General Motors has clipped the wings of its independence-minded European divisions by concentrating power at its regional headquarters under a beefed-up management team.

Eager to forge a unified European identity and bind in the Opel, Vauxhall and Saab fiefdoms, GM stripped them of key functions such as finance, engineering, manufacturing, purchasing, marketing and planning, and put those roles at European headquarters in Zurich.

It also created a single pan-European design team.

GM's global product development chief, Bob Lutz, said the changes would help it catch up with rivals who recognized earlier the need to adapt to increasingly global markets. The new system should let the sister companies develop shared parts and systems like seat frames or wire harnesses that customers will never see, while keeping distinct looks for the individual brands.