Opel News

Holden's performance-car division will continue to build the Clubsport sedan and wagon, Maloo ute, Grange limousine and GTS super-sedan until the October 2017 end of Commodore production.Carsguide understands it may even stockpile enough cars to run into 2018 because once these homegrown heroes go, there will be no more.In the meantime, HSV is looking to broaden its range. Don't be surprised to see the high-performance Opel Astra OPC hot hatch and Opel Insignia OPC sedan and wagon in Holden showrooms wearing HSV badges.HSV has sold Opel's high- performance Astra before and the Astra hatch and Insignia were sold here last year as Opels before the brand was withdrawn from sale. That means they have Australian Design Rules approval and the parts are available. Only the HSV badges are missing.

Opel cars could be back in Holden showrooms by the end of this year, starting with the sleek and sexy Cascada convertible priced about $50,000.

Motorist in Russia seem to capture just about everything with their dashcams and this little city car losing traction is a doozy. After sliding around during an overtake the Opel Corsa narrowly avoids a collision with a Lada and ends up perfectly positioned in a car parking spot on the side of the road.There's just one problem - the car's back to front - but perhaps the driver has an equally impressive skid planned to rejoin traffic.This reporter is on Twitter: @VladCARS

The network of 20 dealers and 15 Melbourne-based head office staff were informed of the decision today. Job losses are unlikely at dealer level because most dealerships are multi franchise and represent a number of other car brands.However it is unclear how many -- if any -- Opel staff will be absorbed at sister brand Holden. Opel returned to Australia in September last year with three passenger-car models. An SUV was due to join the line-up next month.But sales did not meet expectations and the company struggled to make a profit in what is regarded as the world's most competitive new-car market. "We can't sell our cars at the price they need to be in order to meet our volume targets," said Opel spokeswoman Michelle Lang."The Astra small car was supposed to underpin our brand but with the prices of most rivals dipping to close to $20,000 we just couldn't compete." Before Opel arrived in Australia under its own brand (the cars were previously sold with Holden badges in the 1990s and early 2000s) German management boldly and naively forecast sales of 15,000 cars within the first three years.Instead, Opel did not even get a fraction of that, selling 541 cars last year and 989 in the first six months of this year. The hasty exit means that the remaining Opel cars in dealer stock will be sold at clearance prices.The warranty, parts and service of the existing fleet of Opel cars is yet to be determined but it will likely be done via the dealerships of General Motors partner Holden. The arrival of Opel was doomed from the beginning. General Motors tried to pitch a relatively unknown badge with a price premium in a market with 67 brands. Now there are 66.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

In an official statement Opel Australia said it could not viably follow its competitors recent trend for cutting prices, and would have needed to "significantly reposition the price of its core volume models” to survive.The news comes in the lead-up to the planned launch of the Zafira people-mover next week and Mokka compact SUV in coming months. Opel also cited the ongoing resources needed to keep promoting the brand in Australia – one of the most competitive markets in the world, with 66 vehicle brands competing for the consumer wallet. In addition to advertising, Opel has also entered into some high profile marketing and public relations over the past 12 months, including sponsorship of the Sydney Roosters rugby leage team, announced in June 2012. The sponsorship was halted last week by Opel. The brand also sponsored Melbourne Football Club in the AFL.Opel and Holden will now start working on analysis of "the potential for future Holden-badged niche product, in order to ascertain if opportunities for individual carlines exist" the statement saidCustomers were promised that Opel would meet all obligations in terms of warranty. The statement said Opel was "working closely with employees, dealers and suppliers to conduct this closure process in an orderly and responsible manner. As always, customers are of the highest priority, and Opel Australia will remain in close contact with them, to ensure all on-going obligations to these customers are met."Opel launched here in August 2012 with the Astra hatchback, Insignia mid-sized sedan and wagon and the Corsa light car. The brand believed at the time it could achieve yearly sales of 15,000 by 2015, and have developed a network of 20 dealerships around the country.However last year -- its first and partial year of operations -- resulted in 541 sales. The brand has moved  989 vehicles so far this year to the end of June. Top sellers were the Astra, which accounted for 365 last year and 677 this year, followed by the Insignia with 111 last year and 198 this year. The Opel Corsa has sold only 65 last year and 114 this year.The Astra nameplate was a familiar one to Australia, having sold here as a Holden for many years. Other Opels also badged as Holdens include Barina, Calibra, Vectra, Zafira and Tigra. In addition, the original  VB Commodore, Camira and Gemini models were all heavily based on Opel designs.Any concerned customers should contact the Opel Customer Assistance Centre on 1800 993 677 with any questions.

Opel is reportedly set on bringing a rear-wheel-drive coupe to the market.The concept version of this should be arriving to wow crowds at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, and an early report from AutoExpress suggests the vehicle could take on the likes of the BMW 4-Series and the Audi A5. This Opel is apparently set on hunting down the luxury machines in the upscale two-door club.Rumour has it that the Monza Coupe will draw upon the same chassis found under the skin of the Cadillac ATS.That's certainly a smart choice since that rear-wheel-drive setup turns the ATS into a wonderful driving machine, which is what the Opel would have to be in order to draw buyers way from the BMW and Audi options.Since the Monza Coupe could run on the ATS platform, it's also likely that it will receive a wide range of engine options. There's the 2.0-litre turbo four as well as the the 3.6-litre V6 unit, but there's also a string of powerplants that European customers would clamour for, including a diesel mill.For now this is all just rumour and speculation but it's grounded in some very real reality. Stay tuned for more once we get our eyes on the actual concept when it's shown in Germany.www.motorauthority.com 

Joining the updated Opel Insignia range at the 2013 Frankfurt show in September will be the all-new Insignia Country Tourer, revealed today as the Opel brand’s new flagship. The vehicle is based on the Insignia Sports Tourer station wagon but gets some off-roading attributes such as taller ground clearance and protective body elements.Opel was prompted to develop the car following the European success of the smaller Mokka crossover – which arrives locally later this year. The Insignia Country Tourer now meets the demand of Opel customers seeking a toughened-up vehicle with a little extra cargo capacity.Opel is yet to confirm the Country Tourer for Australia, but Opel Australia spokesperson Michelle Lang suggests that any decision will be influenced by the upcoming Mokka's local success. "Given the Australian market's appetite for SUVs and crossovers, we think the Insignia Country Tourer would be an interesting option for Australia, but any local arrival would still be a long way off."Ms Lang suggested that a right-hand-drive version would likely make it to the UK wearing Vauxhall badges, which would significantly aid Australia's chances of seeing the Country Tourer.   In mainland Europe, the Opel Insignia Country Tourer will come standard with all-wheel drive and a range of torquey turbocharged engines, the most powerful of which is a turbocharged and direct-injected 2.0 litre four-cylinder with 187kW and 400Nm on tap. Transmission choices include a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic.Drive is sent to all four wheels via a Haldex-based all-wheel-drive system incorporating an electronic limited-slip differential. The system constantly adapts to changing road conditions and varies torque distribution from 0- 100 per cent between the front and rear axles, as well as between the rear wheels.Onlookers will be able to easily recognize the Insignia Country Tourer by its taller ground clearance, underbody guards front and rear, and prominent wheel-arches with body cladding. A set of dual-exhaust tips round out the unique visual touches.Inside, the vehicle gets all the latest goodies introduced for the Insignia’s 2013 update. The highlight is a new centre console with an 8-inch touch-screen display. A touchpad surface common to many luxury cars has also been installed, just below the gear lever.www.motorauthority.com 

Opel’s flagship Insignia sedan, hatch and Sports Tourer wagon have received a slew of updates as part of their respective mid-cycle refreshes

The biggest change, according to Carparazzi, is a total rework of the old-fashioned and low-quality interior. The Corsa also gets a new face taken from the baby Adam and there could also be more power when the car arrives here towards the end of the year. Here late this year with little change from current pricing. This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover    

Opel has announced that its Mokka compact SUV is on its way to Australia just a few months after going on sale in Europe. The Mokka will hit showrooms here “in the third quarter of this year”, although Opel won’t be more specific about timing at this stage. But they’ll be out and about on local roads from June – tempting budding spy photographers. Opel Australia’s managing director, Bill Mott says the Mokka will be very welcome Down Under. “We are very excited to bring the Mokka to Australia. This car has already had in excess of 100,000 orders in Europe since launch, and with the Australian SUV segment growing 22 per cent in the last 12 months it is certainly a space we want to be playing in. “We will have a number of Mokkas on the road from next month for local testing.” Opel marketing and public relations head Michelle Lang says engineers will be running a test fleet “for in-depth familiarisation for staff and dealers, prior to the production vehicles arriving. “We are really excited about the early arrival of our Mokkas, and hope to see lots of spy shots of them out on the roads in Melbourne -- hopefully not obscured by torrential rain,” Lang says. We witnessed its global debut of the Opel Mokka at the Geneva Motor Show in 2012 and liked its positive stance and bold lines. It has a sculpted body in keeping with the latest thinking in this fast growing market segment. Opel says Mokka has been given a sporty edge with well-defined lines. However, we have yet to see one on the road so won’t make our final appraisal for a few months. The interior of the new Mokka centres around a wing-shaped instrument panel that blends around the door inserts and the sculpted surfaces in the doors. The Mokka will be launched in Australia with a turbocharged 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine mated to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. This engine is familiar to Australian drivers of the Holden Cruze and is one of our favourite powerplants.  A turbodiesel is an option in the Mokka in other markets and may come to Australia later. In keeping with most SUVs these days it will be available with either front-wheel drive or 4WD. The latter using Opel’s adaptive all-wheel drive technology which should give it some decent ability on unsealed surfaces. Safety has obviously ranked high in the priority decisions during the earliest design stages and life saving features include Opel’s adaptive forward lighting system (AFL+); electronic stability program ESPPlus;  Hill Start Assist; and Hill Descent Control. Second-generation Opel Eye front camera with Forward Collision Alert and Lane Departure Warning functions are the sort of features normally found on expensive upmarket cars. Exactly which of these safety items will be fitted to which Mokka model in Australia is still to be finalised. However, the importer has already stated that reversing cameras will be fitted to every model. The Opel Mokka is a five-star Euro NCAP vehicle. Full specification and pricing for the Mokka will be released closer to launch. Though still a newcomer in Australia, Opel is big in Europe and was the fourth largest automotive brand in that area in 2011, with over 1.2 million vehicles sold. Many Opels with Holden badges (Barina, Astra, Vectra amongst others) have been sold in this country in past decades.