* Karl-Friedrich Stracke to be Opel CEO from April 1
* Stracke succeeds Nick Reilly as Opel CEO
* Reilly to remain head of GM's European operations (Adds analyst comment, background)
By Ben Klayman
DETROIT, March 17 (Reuters) - General Motors Co named its vehicle engineering boss, Karl-Friedrich Stracke, as the new chief executive of its money-losing European arm, Adam Opel AG, the latest change at the top of the U.S. automaker's management team.
Nick Reilly, current CEO of German-based Opel, will remain head of GM's European operations and will be nominated to chair Opel's supervisory board.
"The European market and our European operations are important to General Motors, and these moves will ensure that we have the best leadership in place as we continue toward growth and profitability," GM CEO Dan Akerson said in a statement. He recently voiced impatience with the unit's turnaround.
Industry observers saw the move as Akerson wanting to change leaders at the struggling unit.
"All managers have a degree of patience and a degree of impatience, and (Akerson) had grown impatient with the current head of Opel and was determined to make a change," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management. His firm has owned auto stocks in the past and he still follows the sector.
Several other recent changes in GM's senior management team have allowed Akerson to put his stamp on the automaker. On March 10, GM said Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell was leaving and would be succeeded by Dan Ammann on April 1.
In 2009, GM dropped plans to spin off Opel, backtracking on months of negotiations to sell it. The German government waged a high-profile battle against any sale.
GM has embarked on a drastic restructuring to get the unit, which lost $1.6 billion last year, back on track.
Stracke, 55, faces an uphill battle as the mature Western European market is seen as the laggard in the global auto industry's slow recovery.
"Europe is a bad market for everybody, and in particular for GM," said Morningstar analyst David Whiston. "So to see some sort of change there is no surprise."
Opel has essentially wiped away perceptions among European consumers that it may not survive, but it may take about five years to restore the brand's image in its home market of Germany, Reilly has said.
Akerson said earlier this month he was pleased with Opel's recent market share gains, but added, "We are still losing money, so I guess I'm impatient."
GM has retained Alix Partners to help in Opel's restructuring.
Reilly reiterated on Thursday that the restructuring of Opel, including its British Vauxhall brand, was on track. Earlier this month, he projected Opel would break even in 2011 after restructuring costs, and show a profit in 2012.
Stracke, a 32-year GM veteran who started his career at Opel, will take over management of Opel from April 1, GM said.
The German-born Stracke is credited with being one of the key engineers responsible for overhauling and revamping GM's vehicle lineup as it emerged from a government-led bankruptcy in 2009, including the introduction of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid car.
Stracke, along with North American President Mark Reuss, is among the "car guys" who have taken a lead role at GM since the bankruptcy.
GM said Stracke will report to Reilly.
"As he (Stracke) gets his feet on the ground more, it will allow me some more time to look at the long-term strategic positioning in Europe," Reilly told reporters during a conference call on Thursday.
Stracke will be replaced as global engineering chief by John Calabrese, GM's executive director of global vehicle engineering.
In another change, GM shifted Vice President Terry Woychowski from global vehicle program management to global vehicle quality. (Additional reporting by Nick Carey and Bernie Woodall in Detroit, and Maria Sheahan in Frankfurt; Editing by John Wallace and Richard Chang)