Opel News

The new Cabrio is testing at the Nurburgring ahead of its 2013 motor show preview, but sales in Australia are unlikely before early in 2014.The big different for the Astra Cabrio, says Carparazzi, is a two-part retractable hardtop rather than a conventional canvas roof. Here some time in 2014 at around $50,000.

...to ensure it's more than just a city runabout. The Adam is intended to create a 'sub-brand' for Australia's newest import badge, going up against the Mini and Fiat 500.

It has a two-part retractable hardtop, not the canvas roof seen in the earlier Holden Astra droptop in Australia, to give it a showroom advantage over the Volkswagen Golf. There is no confirmation yet that the fresh-air favourite will return down under but it looks highly likely.  

The German maker opens its doors on September 1 with just three cars but admits local buyers will eventually be spoiled for choice.

With the brand getting ready to launch in Australia, it might eventually make it here next year to compete in a growing segment. Opel Mokka is the first German entrant in the growing sub-compact SUV segment. It's a good looking five seater with innovative technologies and an upmarket feel — a bit like a like a distilled version of larger SUV. Mokka can be specified with front or on demand all wheel drive  Power is provided by three engines. All manual transmissions are equipped with fuel saving start/stop system. The petrol engines are an 85 kW, 1.6-litre, naturally-aspirated unit as well as a 103 kW,1.4-litre Turbo with 200Nm.  The turbodiesel is a 93 kW, 1.7-litre CDTI with 300Nm. Both the 1.4 Turbo and the 1.7 CDTI are available with either with six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. Mokka introduces a string of driver assistance systems based on the Opel Eye front camera system, as well as a rear view camera. The seating that has been certified by AGR — the German healthy back organisation. Mokka also offers a fully integrated, latest generation Flex-Fix bicycle carrier that is exclusive to Opel. The vehicle is designed for people with active lifestyles. Standard features that enhance the driving experience across all Mokka versions include the stability control, hill start assist and hill descent control. The Advanced Adaptive Forward Lighting which increases driving safety includes high beam assist. The new generation Opel Eye front camera is also available. It gives the driver access to several functions including lane departure warning and traffic sign recognition.  

....just as the German brand tweaks its family-focussed Insignia models. The changes caught by Carparazzi are tiny, just work on the nose and tail, to give it the latest family look.

The baby Opel Adam, dubbed Junior in the lead-up to its showing in the UK this week, presents as a smaller Corsa with a similar Opel family face.It will be publicly shown at this year's Paris motor show in September and go on sale in Europe as a Vauxhall and Opel Adam. The timing clicks with the Australian launch of the Opel brand but, says Opel Australia's managing director Bill Mott, the Adam is a long, long way down the track."We are putting all our efforts into the Opel brand launch here,'' he says. "The Adam is not even under consideration - we're not even thinking about it yet.'' Opel will follow the Mini theme by offering Adam in a huge range of combinations of colour, materials, fittings and drivetrains. It will get a new-generation drivetrain including three "ecoFLEX'' four-cylinder petrol engines from the European launch.These are a 52kW 1.2-litre; and two 1.4-litres at 65kW and 75kW. All will be available with stop-start technology and will be mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.But this is a temporary fix as the model will later be available with a three-cylinder, direct-injection turbo-petrol engine mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.Adam is styled by Opel's vice-president of design, Mark Adams and his team in Europe. It is distinguished by a "floating'' roof that is visually disconnected from the body - achieved by using blacked-out pillars and contrasting body and roof colours.Overtones of other Opels include the body crease around the door handle (from the GTC); wing-shaped chrome grille bar (Astra) and the blade shape in the lower doors. It will be available in three trims from launch - JAM fashionable/colourful), GLAM (elegant/sophisticated) and SLAM (racy/sporty).It is promoted as a car that customers can make their own with almost unlimited visual combinations. Customers can even choose their headlining, including an LED-lit starlight roof trim. Also available is a sophisticated infotainment system designed to support new media sources, including Bluetooth, as well as connectivity for smartphones with Android or Apple iOS software.This enables access to internet-based applications, including GPS navigation. It uses a seven-inch, full-colour touch screen. Opel says Adam will break new ground in the A-segment by offering technology normally only found in higher-end cars.An example is the Advanced Park Assist II system, which automatically steers itself into a parking space with the driver only needing to control the brake, clutch and gears. The car is nearly 3.7m long, 1.72m wide and a 2311mm wheelbase but has a wide track. Its size equates to the Holden Barina Spark. 

Those two are among those believed to be among those appointed to sell their GM stabelmate, Opel, when it hits Australia in September.Instead, the German brand will be stocked by multi-brand dealers, some of which sell other European luxury brands. Carsguide believes 16 dealers have so far been appointed and that only two are Holden. However, Opel Australia spokeswoman Michelle Lang says they are "still in the process" of appointing dealers."You'll have to wait another three or four weeks for the full list," she says. "We currently have contracts coming back and the legal processes are under way. "All I can say is we are really pleased with the calibre of dealers." Lang says their target number of dealers is "only 16 or 17 in the first year". "We may be looking at that as time goes on, but they will be metropolitan dealers to begin with. "I can't comment on that (Holden dealers) yet. It's a bit premature at the moment. "Some dealers are multi-dealers that have other German brands." Even though it is part of the American GM stable, Opel is considered a German brand with German engineering and design and manufacture in European countries such as Belgium, Britain, Poland, Russia and, of course, Germany. The brand will launch in Australia with three model ranges - Corsa, Astra and Insignia. Carsguide believes the Corsa may start at under $20,000 to gain a foothold on the showroom floor, but Lang says she cannot confirm. "Your informants are telling you more than I can tell you," she says. The initial launch model line-up will consist of Corsa three- and five-door small hatch, the Astra five-door, Tourer (wagon) and GTC coupe, and the Insignia Sedan and Tourer.Astra was last sold in Australia by Holden in March 2010 when it was built in Belgium and replaced by the Korean-built Cruze. The Astra models coming to Australia will be built at GM's Vauxhall plant in England after workers at the Liverpool plant recently voted on cost savings that included operating 24 hours a day. Opel's hero car, the Astra GTC, recently won the design category of the 2012 Plus X Awards in Germany. It was one of eight awards for the German brand. 

Opel posted a massive a first-quarter loss of $256 million, and has unveiled a plan to reverse its downward slide, which saw sales sink 16 per cent so far this year in Europe, more than double the region's overall drop of 7 per cent.During an extraordinary all-employee meeting at Opel’s Ruesselheim HQ in Germany yesterday, CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke outlined a 10-point plan to bring the carmaker back into the black.Among the key points was entering new markets like Australia – where Opel launches later this year -- and South America, while expanding in other markets. "We've already successfully introduced Opel to the market in Israel and we'll expand our activities in China, Russia and Turkey," Stracke said.Stracke also said Opel must continue to look at entering new vehicle fields such as the city car (where it has announced the Adam) and the sub-compact SUV (the Mokka). Opel will also consider more alliances, similar to the tie-up with Peugeot Citroen PSA, he said, reassuring the Ruesselsheim staff that any PSA joint projects outlined for France would be matched by others in Germany.General Motors' European unit, Opel/Vauxhall, is open to alliances beyond that with PSA/Peugeot-Citroen and could build a Chevrolet model to take up excess capacity and help it return to profit. In the bid to return to profit, Opel will also review production costs and possibly streamline processes to increase profit margins on every car that rolls off the line, he said.Part of the streamlining plan reinforced reports published by Carsguide last week suggesting that the Astra small car – which will be part of the Australian launch – will no longer be built in Germany. Stracke said the Astra would in future be built in two plants, rather than the current three, suggesting that Astra production at Ruesselheim will stop, leaving it built in the UK and Poland factories."Given the forecasted market volumes, it would not be viable to produce (the Astra) in more than two plants," Stracke said. Opel is also in talks with its GM parent about taking on some of the Chevrolet production currently coming out of Korea to improve capacity usage, he said. However he stressed the plan should not be seen as a cost-cutting plan, saying it was instead “rather a comprehensive plan to quickly improve profitability”. 

The urban hatch, previously known as Junior, is smaller than the Corsa and joins the Opel range in Europe in September. The name comes from founder of the company that takes his name. Adam Opel AG is celebrating its 150th anniversary of a business that started as a sewing machine maker. Opel says the name reflects its starting point and is simple to pronounce in all languages. The Adam is expected to use the Corsa drivetrain that includes a three petrol engines - 1-litre three-cylinder, and a 1.2-litre and 1.4-litre four-cylinder - and a 1.3-litre turbo-diesel. Transmissions include a six-speed manual and six-speed semi-automatic. The car isn't yet confirmed for Australia. Opel will first bed down its three-model launch in Australia with the Astra, Corsa and Indignia from September.