Like a row of skittles, General Motors’ selloff plans keep falling over.

The latest deal to collapse is the sale its Swedish unit, Saab, which was to have been bought by boutique Scandanavian sports car maker Koenigsegg Group.

But Koenigsegg has now pulled the plug on the deal. Owner Christian von Koenigsegg said the financing was available but that the complexity of the deal made it impossible to conclude it in the time needed to turn Saab around.

In a shock move, General Motors has cancelled plans to sell its European car business, comprising the Opel and Vauxhall marques, to a Russian-backed consortium.

The Detroit company’s board said it had scrapped plans for the sale to Canadian car parts Magna and Russia’s Srbank, because of "an improving business environment for GM over the past few months."

Buoyed by the successful “clash for clunkers” car scheme and a $US50 billion government bailout, General Motors now wants to retain its Opel-Vauxhall European operations.

GM’s new CEO, Fritz Henderson, has ruled out a sale to a Canadian-Russian consortium, which is favoured by the German government, and is considering an alternative scheme that will retain the European operations.

The global motor industry’s upheavals continue with a big merger in Germany, uncertainty remaining over the future of GM’s European Opel unit, and Fiat raising debt after posting another quarterly loss.

Volkswagen agreed to combine with Porsche, forcing the latter’s chief executive officer, Wendelin Wiedeking, to bail after losing a four-year tussle for control.

General Motors revealed it had clocked up nearly $US180 billion in debt as it filed for bankruptcy protection in the US with a government-backed plan to create a 21st-century company that can compete in world markets.

“GM’s and its stakeholders have achieved a viable, achievable plan that will give this iconic American company a chance to rise again,” US President Barack Obama said when announcing the move.