Manufacturer: Opel 

Total sales 2014: 1,076m 

Headquarters: Rüsselsheim, Germany 

EU market share: 9%

Strengthening European operation

According to preliminary figures, Opel achieved its highest end-of-year sales figure since 2011 last year, recording 1,076m vehicle sales in Europe alone. The brand achieved its largest year-on-year sales volume increases in Poland (+ 42%), Ireland (+ 33%) and Portugal (+ 28%), with the Vauxhall brand acting as a cornerstone of Opel’s European sales success.

The launches of Mokka, ADAM and Cascada in 2013 helped drive this sales success as models became more widely available in 2014. Corsa, Opel’s biggest selling car, contributed 84,275 registrations in the UK alone in 2013, ahead of Germany at around 50,000 units, and there were 42,285 new registrations during the first half of 2014. The new Corsa arrived at dealerships last month, and is expected to contribute to a strong sales uplift in 2015.

“When we look back on 2014 we were just a shade under 10% growth in fleet registrations year-over-year so it was a very good year for us,” commented Ian Hucker, director European fleet. “Looking forward to 2015, that fleet share growth is expected to continue. Full availability of Corsa in 2015 which will have a big impact, and we launched Vivaro at the back end of last year which will be important for our commercial vehicle growth strategy with more conversions and options becoming available. We are investing in our B2B sales forces across all our European markets to help develop our approach to the small business sector.”

Opel announced in September 2014 that its Russian operation would be scaled back due to the unstable economic and political situation. GM also confirmed that it will withdraw Opel from China in 2015, and will invest in Europe to boost the German car brand’s sales in its home region. The carmaker has targeted a market share of 8% in Europe by 2022.

ADAM and Mokka will be introduced to South Africa this year as part of a product and export offensive by Opel, which will see the brand introduce 27 new vehicles and 17 engines in applicable markets by 2018. Opel has seen resurgence in South Africa, with vehicle sales up 54% in the first seven months of 2014.

GM CEO Mary Barra announced a €245m investment at the Rüusselsheim manufacturing plant last year to enable Opel to move to the next stage of its powertrain offensive, providing funding to develop fuel efficient engines and transmissions.

GM has also outlined plans to develop greater synergies between the Opel/Vauxhall and Buick brands. “Greater synergy between the brands gives us a broader global footprint for the platforms and vehicles,” Mr Hucker added. “Under the Buick brand, Insignia is rapidly becoming a global vehicle, particularly in America, and we’ve recently announced plans to launch Insignia in Australia under the Holden brand.

‘This is an important part of the strategy going forward, and having a global presence doesn’t really mean taking an Opel product and selling it all over the world; it means finding the most appropriate distribution strategy for the product and finding the best fit for different brands in different countries.”

Model and powertrain offensive…

Opel recently announced details of its KARL five-door entry-level model, which goes on sale in Europe this summer. Named after the son of the company founder, the model joins ADAM and Corsa in Opel’s small car line-up and will offer a range of safety and comfort features.

Only one engine will be offered at launch; a new 75hp 1.0-litre three-cylinder ECOTEC engine developed for the model. The Opel IntelliLink infotainment system will also be available, which allows seamless integration of Apple iOS and Android devices.

Towards the end of the year, possibly at the Frankfurt Motor Show, a new British-built Astra will be unveiled ahead of its planned launch in 2016. Previous test models have been spotted performance testing at the Nürburgring and three new engine families (which include 13 individual petrol and diesel units) will be available by the time the new Astra reaches production.

Mokka gains the new 1.6-litre ‘Whisper Diesel’ engine in 2015, bringing CO2 emissions down to 109g/km with 4.1l/100km fuel economy. Already available in the Astra, Meriva and Zafira Tourer ranges, the new engine is gradually replacing the 1.7-litre CDTi across the range, and will be offered in the more powerful 138hp form in the Mokka. It brings the crossover’s CO2 figure closer to key rival – the Nissan Juke – as well as slashing running costs.

GM CEO Mary Barra announced in November 2014 that the Opel plant in Rüsselsheim will produce the brand’s forthcoming new SUV – its second flagship model alongside the Insignia – due to launch in 2020. Based on a Cadillac platform, industry insiders expect the new SUV to be similar under the bonnet to the next generation Cadillac SRX.

A new electric vehicle is also under development to replace the existing Ampera range. “We will have a replacement electric vehicle in the range in the future; we are committed to retaining that type of technology in the Opel/Vauxhall portfolio,” confirmed Mr Hucker.

Already a familiar feature in North America, Canada, Mexico and China, GM will bring OnStar Connectivity to Europe in 2015. The system is being built in as standard on every new Opel car except entry-level models, bringing 4G internet access and eCall emergency services to customers. OnStar will also offer vehicle diagnosis reports and telematics features, and will be heavily promoted as part of the company’s fleet growth objectives for the year.

View from the top

Ian Hucker, director European fleet, on Opel’s fleet appeal and the revival of an iconic name.

How has Mokka been received by fleet customers?

We are at over 330,000 orders for Mokkas now and still can’t build them quickly enough. We have moved production to Zaragoza in Spain to shorten that logistics chain to be able to deliver them more quickly to customers and Mokka has done particularly well, certainly in 2014, as a user-chooser vehicle. Although SUVs have historically been difficult to place in fleet policy, when you get down to the Mokka and the TCO advantages for a vehicle of Mokka’s size and the powertrains we can offer, it’s a tremendous proposition and we are delighted with the response.

Have new variants of the Insignia broadened its appeal?

We are delighted with how the new Insignia has performed since we relaunched it Q4 2013, and in terms of its segment share we have seen a 40% increase year-over-year in fleet for Europe as a whole. We are up to 155,000 orders since launch. Right from its debut, the Country Tourer variant increased awareness of the four-wheel drive on Insignia and broadened understanding of the technical capabilities of the model.

Why has KARL been named Viva for its UK launch?

Building off the positive reaction to the ADAM’s name, for all our Opel markets KARL is the direction we wanted to head in. For the UK, however, Viva has such a strong awareness and recognition that it seemed right to revive it for this particular model and give the Vauxhall Viva a standing start in that segment. Like Opel, for which the KARL name is emphasising its German heritage, it made sense to emphasise the Britishness of the Vauxhall brand and revive this historic name from Vauxhall’s past.