General Motors Europe (often abbreviated to
GM Europe) was responsible for the operation of
General Motors ("GM") businesses in
Europe. The subsidiary was established by GM in 1986 and operated 14 production and assembly facilities in 9 countries, and employed around 54,500 people. GM's core European brands are England-based
Vauxhall and Germany-based
Opel, which sell much the same range of cars in different markets. It formerly owned the Swedish marque
Saab until early 2010. The U.S. brands
Chevrolet and
Cadillac are imported into Europe in small quantities. In 2009, General Motors (GM) announced to move its European headquarters from Zurich, Switzerland to Rüsselsheim, Germany to strengthen its German subsidiary Opel.