Opel eyeing the Australian market
Nick Reilly (pictured) has big plans for Opel, which was originally planned to be sold as part of GM's bankruptcy proceedings in the US.
Opel is hoping to fill some of the vacancy left by GM's sale of Saab and has publicly named Australia as one of its targets. The Opel-built Calibra coupe, as well as the family-style Vectra and Astra, were sold here before GM Holden's focus on subcompacts in Korea and products made by Daewoo.
The latest models of Barina, Viva, Cruze and Captiva are rooted in Korea, although Fishermans Bend engineers and designers are increasingly making changes to them. Holden is mostly evasive about the plan, but Opel boss Nick Reilly, who ironically once led the GM team at Daewoo, is optimistic.
“Opel is an icon of German engineering. For markets like China, Australia and South Africa, Opel can be a premium brand. We have great, award-winning cars,” Reilly tells Stern magazine in Germany. The strategy is to focus on China, Australia and South Africa."
Reilly has big plans for Opel, which was originally planned to be sold as part of GM's bankruptcy proceedings in the US. He survived the threat and is now called upon to lead the advancement of prestige while GM uses Chevrolet as its global value brand.
“We have to be able to compete with Volkswagen; if possible, we should have an even stronger brand. And in Germany, we should be able to charge higher prices than the French or the Koreans,” says Reilly. "But we will not try to copy BMW, Mercedes or Audi."
There are close ties between Opel and Holden dating back to the 1970s. The original 1978 VB Commodore was designed by Opel, although the body of the car was stretched for family use. But Holden is not a fan of Opel's promotion - at least not yet.
“There are no plans from our side to re-introduce Opel products into the Holden lineup,” spokeswoman Emily Perry said. “Australia is one of the new potential export markets they are looking at. We are obviously working with them as they evaluate this market, but we have nothing more to say.”
The last remaining Opel product in Holden's catalog is the Combo van. Sales this year have just topped 300 vehicles, 63 of which were delivered in June. The now discontinued Astra convertible also contributed to 19 Opel sales in the first half of 2010.
