Vice President Joe Biden reiterated Monday that the U.S. government may maintain an ownership stake in General Motors Co. beyond this year, as the automaker prepares to return to the stock markets as early as this fall, reported The Wall Street Journal.

"I don't know if you get totally out of GM" by the end of this year, Biden told reporters during a tour of Chrysler Group LLC's Toledo, Ohio, assembly plant, where the Jeep Wrangler is made. "I think that IPO will be successful."

Biden added that the car industry turnaround has been "very successful" under the Obama administration.

The U.S. Treasury could sell some of its 61 percent ownership stake in GM when the company undergoes an initial public stock offering later this year, but just how much it will sell remains uncertain. U.S. officials have said details on timing and the number of shares the Treasury will sell will be determined largely by market conditions.

GM last week submitted paperwork to the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking approval to conduct an IPO and return to being a publicly traded entity. The company reported a second-quarter profit of $1.3 billion.

GM, along with Chrysler, received billions of dollars in government loans to keep their operations running last year. The Obama administration also helped guide both GM and Chrysler through expedited bankruptcies last year.

Chrysler's assets were merged with Fiat SpA while GM re-emerged as a stand-alone company.

Chrysler has no immediate plans to conduct an IPO. The auto maker reported a second-quarter loss of $172 million and an operating profit of $183 million.