Ruesselsheim, Germany - Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that her government would grant credit guarantees to Opel to help the struggling German carmaker in its battle for survival.

Germany was looking for an investor that it could support with the goal of finding a long-term solution to secure the company's future, she told workers at an Opel plant in Ruesselsheim.

She was speaking a day after US President Barack Obama gave Opel's ailing US parent General Motors 60 days to complete restructuring operations or facing loosing government support.

Despite the breathing space, speedy action was needed, Merkel said.

"We have to lay the groundwork, and quickly at that, to create an Opel Europe that is ready to face the future," she added.

Opel, which like the rest of the car industry has been badly hit by the global economic downturn, wants greater independence from GM, preferably in the form of a separate European operation.

Germany has offered to foot the lion's share of the 3.3 billion euros the company says would be needed to restructure operations in European countries where Opel has plants.

The German government has repeatedly spoken against a financial bail-out for Opel, preferring a private investor or partners from within the industry.

But four German states with Opel factories are seeking ways to save up to 50,000 jobs related to Opel and its supply chain.

The US government has a say in central aspects of any rescue plan, because parts of GM's patent rights and shares have been used as collateral for the US government's emergency loans to GM.

GM's chief of European Operations, Carl-Peter Forster, said Tuesday that Opel would have full access to the patents if the two companies went their separate ways. (dpa)