Somersaults in Rüsselsheim

Rüsselsheim, November 21, 2014

An early Christmas present for the stricken fear of the future Opel employees had General Motors chief Mary Barra during her recent visit to Germany in luggage: You announced that at its headquarters in Rüsselsheim at the end of the decade, a new model will roll off the line. For the production of the new model are ?? As announced in March 2014 ?? invested around 245 million euros in Rüsselsheim. So happy that moves the employee in Rüsselsheim, colleagues in the Ruhr, it should help a little: The Bochum plant must close early December 2014.

Second flagship alongside the Insignia

The new model will be a SUV, which is positioned according to Barra as "second flagship brand next to the Insignia ". In the large SUV segment has so far only the Opel Antara offer, which is a non-seller with sales of less than 1,000 units per year in Germany. According to industry rumors it could be a car based on the Monza Coupe concept, the Opel introduced in 2013 at the IAA. It also speculates on a Buick platform ?? here came the 5.13 meter long Enclave in question. Be fitted well motors from the Insignia.

New engines and transmissions

Further investments will be in the production of a new engine and transmission family. In the works Rüsselsheim and Kaiserslautern in Polish Tichy is to be issued for about half a billion euros. This Opel ignite the next stage of its engine and gear - offensive, which should lead to lower CO2 emissions. Opel CEO Karl - Thomas Neumann also announced that a third layer is introduced in the Eisenach factory from mid-2015. This helps to satisfy the high demand for the Adam and the new Corsa, which will be built in the Thuringian factory.

Commitment to Opel

From 2014 to 2018 Opel will introduce 27 new models and 17 new engines. These already include the launching end of 2014 new Corsa and the new subcompact cars Opel Karl, who will compete against the VW Up from spring 2015. In addition to new products include a better image to the priorities, with technical innovations and a good price - performance ratio in the foreground. So the market share in Germany to grow by 2022 from seven to ten percent. In all of this Neumann has the backing of the parent company: " Opel is of high strategic importance for GM ," said Barra. The additional investment was a clear commitment from GM to Opel, to Germany and to Europe. Neumann was delighted: " General Motors and Opel are closer together than ever before. " ( sl )

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