Fiat SpA could increase its 20% stake in Chrysler Group LLC to 25% by the first quarter of 2011 after meeting the first of three U.S. government targets necessary to increase its holding.

Fiat is allowed to increase its stake in 5% increments as it meets each of three requirements: make a fuel-efficient Fiat-based engine in the U.S., build a car that gets at least 40 miles per gallon and increase exports of Chrysler vehicles.

Chrysler said yesterday it would invest $179 million in its engine plant in Dundee, Mich., to produce a new Fiat-designed engine. The company reiterates that the engine will power the Fiat 500 minicars it plans to begin producing at a Chrysler assembly plant in Toluca, Mexico, in the fourth quarter of 2010. Chrysler plans to produce 100,000 cars annually for export to the U.S. and Latin America.

A federal bankruptcy judge has given “Old Chrysler”-the remains of Chrysler LLC that are still in bankruptcy-an additional month to exclusively control its reorganization.

The ruling gives the entity until March 31 to win support of its creditors for the restructuring plan it filed this week. The company proposes to wind down 25 remaining units and repay $21 million of secured claims in full. It says it does not plan to repay $3.7 billion it owes the U.S. government.

Spyker Cars NV says the main obstacle to its proposed purchase of General Motors Co.’s Saab Automobile unit is obtaining a €400 million ($575 million) loan from the European Investment Bank by year-end, says Bloomberg News.

Victor Muller, CEO of the Dutch sports car maker, tells the news service the EIB has sent only “neutral signals” about the loan request. The bank approved a similar loan to Saab in October when Koenigsegg Group was the buyer. Since that deal collapsed last month, the EIB must re-evaluate the financing in light of the new buyer, Muller says.

He says Spyker also must still win Swedish government approval of guarantees for the EIB loan and a ruling by the European Commission that the financing doesn’t distort competition. GM has said it will close Saab if it doesn’t find a buyer by year-end. But it also indicates it is willing to keep the unit running in January if a sale appears imminent.

Chrysler Group LLC has promoted Scott Garberding, its former purchasing chief, to head of global manufacturing, reporting to CEO Sergio Marchionne.

Garberding succeeds Frank Ewasyshyn, who will retire from the post at year-end. Garberding has filled the job on an interim basis since Ewasyshyn went on medical leave in September. Chrysler says the executive has made a full recovery but decided to retire.

Garberding joined the company in 1976 and held a series of jobs in manufacturing and purchasing before taking charge of Chrysler’s global alliances in 2008. He was named to the purchasing job in June.

Dan Knott, who has been acting purchasing chief, now assumes that job permanently, reporting to Marchionne. Knott was head of vehicle engineering and vehicle line executive for small vehicles from June to September. Previously he oversaw the company’s performance vehicle unit and development of cars and minivans.

Chrysler Group LLC says John Bozzella, its top official in Washington, D.C., is leaving on Dec. 31 to join hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management LP, the company’s former owner. Chrysler says it will name a replacement in a few weeks.

As senior vice president for external affairs, Bozzella helped Chrysler arrange $14.3 billion of loans from the federal government over the past 12 months. His duties also included negotiations this fall with 789 terminated Chrysler dealers who are seeking reinstatement.

Bozzella tells The Detroit News his new job will involve working with government officials on issues that affect Cerberus’ investments. The New York City-based private equity fund gave up its 80.1% stake in Chrysler when the company entered bankruptcy in late April.

Steven Rattner, who was senior adviser to the White House’s auto task force, is writing a book titled Overhaul about his behind-the-scenes experiences, which is slated for publication next fall by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The publisher says the book will “tell the story of the intense 150-day struggle to save the American auto industry.” The Detroit News reported in October that Rattner was considering writing a book based on an article he had just written for Fortune magazine. He served on the task force from February to July.

General Motors Co. has promoted Brian Sweeney from sales manager for Buick-GMC to general manager of the unit.

Sweeney succeeds Michael Richards, the former Ford Motor Co. marketer who resigned last week after just nine days on the job. Among Sweeney’s tasks is to try to retain Pontiac owners by luring them to buy Buick or GMC vehicles after the Pontiac brand disappears next year.

CEO Nick Reilly expects Adam Opel GmbH to lose about €2 billion ($2.9 billion) this year, break even next year, make a “decent profit” in 2012 and achieve a 4%-5% operating profit margin by 2013, says the Financial Times.

Reilly tells the newspaper Opel aims to meet that ambitious target by shedding 8,300 jobs, winning €265 million ($381 million) in annual labor concessions and replacing 80% of its models in the next three years.

Opel labor chief Karl Franz says negotiations on a labor agreement to attain the first two of those goals should be completed by mid-February. In exchange, he wants a pledge to avoid forced layoffs and keep an assembly plant in Antwerp, Belgium, open. Franz also wants to reduce the 5% royalty Opel pays parent General Motors Co. for each vehicle it sells.

Workers granted similar concessions earlier this year when it appeared that Magna International Inc. and OAO Sberbank would buy a controlling stake in Opel. They revoked the deal when GM decided to keep the unit.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. sales unit says three group vice presidents plan to retire early next year.

Irv Miller, head of environmental affairs, and Dave Danzer, who oversees strategic and product planning, will retire on Feb. 1. The company says it will announce their successors in coming weeks.

Steve Sturm, head of corporate communications and strategic research and planning for Toyota Motor North America, will retire on Jan. 1 after 28 years with the company. Jim Wiseman, head of the unit’s external affairs, will succeed Sturm.