Canadian auto parts magnate Frank Stronach, chairman of Magna International Inc., hopes to mass produce electric cars and motors in Canada within three years.

"The electric car is top priority at Magna," Stronach told CTV's Power Play on Tuesday during a day of meetings with officials in Ottawa.

While Ottawa and Washington have spent billions in bailing out General Motors and Chrysler, Stronach said his plan doesn't include any government handouts.

"Let me put it this way, I would never ask for grants," he said of his ambitious electric car plan.

Stronach said the plan would benefit from some public involvement, but will go forward no matter what role Ottawa or Ontario plays in the final scheme.

"If we would get a favourable loan, I think we could accelerate job creation; if not, we would just go (forward), as we always have done."

Stronach's comments came during a policy blitz in Ottawa where the Austrian-born businessman sketched out a plan for a green-friendly automobile.

"We just wanted to let the government know we are very serious, we have a serious commitment and we'd like to sit down and we'd like to operate in manufacturing in Canada."

According to Stronach, a number of European countries, as well as the United States, have expressed interest in manufacturing the electric compact, which Magna developed with Ford.

Stronach said he has not yet been approached about meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper about setting up new plants, but said "if the prime minister wants to see me I'm always available."

If the car does go into production, Magna would stand to profit from a growing consumer demand for more environmentally friendly vehicles.

Stronach estimated that in about six years, 15 per cent of cars sold will be electric or hybrid, a figure that he expects to jump to 30 per cent by 2021.

His company is investing $300 million into the car and hopes the federal government will provide low-interest loans to fund half the cost.

An official at Magna told The Canadian Press that the vehicle could travel as far as 160 kilometres without needing to be recharged.

The electric car would join General Motors' Volt, a fully electric vehicle the company intends to produce in the United States to appear in dealerships by the end of next year.

Stronach to expand Opel

Stronach returned to Canada on Sunday after making a major deal in Germany to purchase a 20 per cent stake in General Motors' European division, Opel.

The deal is expected to close in about two months.

Stronach indicated he expects Opel to break even in three years and turn a profit in four. The car company is currently a money-losing operation.

He also hopes to expand Opel's business to Russia and other parts of the world.

Stronach, father of former MP Belinda Stronach, told the Toronto Star he also wants to import Opel cars to Canada by the end of this year, a move that would lead to eventually building the vehicles in Canada.

He said the deal for Opel comes with a condition from GM that the European brand can't be sold in the U.S.

But he suggested that the terms aren't iron-clad and could eventually change, noting Magna and GM have been partners for 50 years, and GM will still own 35 per cent of Opel under the arrangement.

"I'm a great believer that if you come forward with a good program, which makes a lot of common sense, that you can always change a few things. I'm not worried about that. If it makes economic sense you can always change the contracts."

Meanwhile, Stronach took the opportunity to comment on the massive government bailouts of GM and Chrysler, calling them necessary due to the number of jobs that would be lost and the impact on the worldwide economy if the companies failed.

"If it were only the car industry and the rest of the world economy was functioning, then it wouldn't have been right to bail out the car companies," he said.

"But if they had gone bankrupt and were sold in bits and pieces, the spin-off effects would have been a few million jobs (lost) between Canada and the United States."

Magna, which has its headquarters north of Toronto in Aurora, Ont., is the third largest auto-parts maker in the world.

The company has been hard hit by sluggish sales among GM, Ford and Chrysler, which are Magna's primary customers.