Some more news on Opel relaunch .. in Oz

[001 Neville]

I've managed to track down a name for the new Opel MD for Australia. I emailed him to ask for an update, and got some info as follows:

Thank you for your note - great to hear that others are as excited as we are about launching Opel in Australia.

I am still located in Rüsselsheim but will be relocating to Melbourne at the end of October to take on the role of MD Opel Australia. Let me address your questions one by one....

1. staying in touch with Opel: please visit our website http://www.opel-australia.com.au/flash.html and register with us. You will be receive updates from us via e-mail and post.
2. Sharing current info: We invited 7 Australian journalists to spend two full days with us in Rüsselsheim and environs learning about Opel and driving our products. You should hopefully be seeing quite some coverage on our pending arrival down under. What we have confirmed is that we will bring Corsa, Astra and Insignia at launch. Although not confirmed, we are looking closely at the new GTC and our OPC range as these products fit well to the market and add some real excitement to our offer.
3. Our interest in your heritage vehicles: we took the journalists to visit our classic car centre here which includes one of every car Opel has ever built starting from 1899. It is impressive and one thing the journalists fed back to us was the importance of leveraging this heritage to also underline the long history and staying power of Opel - it may be a new brand to Australia, but it is certainly not a new brand. In this regard, I am very interested in understanding which cars your forum members have and where they are - once I get situated in Melbourne, I would enjoy having a chat.
4. Coming to NZ: our plan is to first establish the brand in Australia - then we will see further.

Look forward to speaking with you in the near future.

I tried registering, but it is currently only set up for Australian addresses, so I've responded asking for that issue to be addressed. Overall, it sounds very positive, and you can see some of the cars to be offered on the website - much more exciting than the current Asian products......

[168 Derek S]

well Holden wont be getting any of my money for a new car soon their current line up is pretty dire

[001 Neville]

well Holden wont be getting any of my money for a new car soon their current line up is pretty dire

... and they dropped the sexiest car, the Monaro, even though it was selling well across the world from what I heard! Was sought after in UK, and even selling in USA as a Pontiac GTO.

The Commodore VE is a good range, but Holden's current small cars just don't spin anyone's wheels from the sales figures that I've been hearing! Ford will be walking all over them!

[020 Brad]

I tried registering, but it is currently only set up for Australian addresses, so I've responded asking for that issue to be addressed. Overall, it sounds very positive, and you can see some of the cars to be offered on the website - much more exciting than the current Asian products......

I've managed to register. I must have just left out the post code, or state or whatever it was that they asked for that related to Australia. I got a letter from them last week and was quite excited by it, but it only related to the brand launch in Australia and offered no real info, just the fact that Opel is planning to launch at some stage in the future and to "stay tuned" or words to that effect.

[014 Phil]

I thought I'd registered, but maybe not..... Will have to fix that!

Holden is doing VERY well with Cruze, & Commodore remains Australia's top-selling car (albeit on the back of fleet/gov't sales). Barina is also doing OK.

Having said that, doesn't make them a good car. I left the Holden dealership when Holden started down the path of replacing its Opel sourced small cars for Korean ones. It's been a great success for their bottom-line, but IMO not for customers who want a quality car.

It will be very interesting to see what volumes they can achieve in a very competitive market.

[001 Neville]

Holden is doing VERY well with Cruze.... Barina is also doing OK.

I'm sure I'd read that sales figures were well down on projected figures

Having said that, doesn't make them a good car. I left the Holden dealership when Holden started down the path of replacing its Opel sourced small cars for Korean ones. It's been a great success for their bottom-line, but IMO not for customers who want a quality car.

It will be very interesting to see what volumes they can achieve in a very competitive market.

Probably is cheaper to make them in Korea, but as you say, the quality isn't there.

I guess the Opel Corsa will be competing with the Barina, and the Astra with the Cruze. Holden don't have an equivalent to the Zafira. I can't see Opel will be able to sell long term out of the same showrooms as Holden. They tried it in UK for a while, and the Vauxhall and Opel models were competing for the same customers. Ended up confusing their customers.

It's a pity GM sold off Saab, or they could have combined sales outlets for Saab/Opel in Australasia as similar quality European products, and the Saabs would have only overlapped the Insignia in the market segments currently being considered by Opel.

[014 Phil]

Opel are pitching themselves as a premium brand and will be targetting other Europeans - in particular VW.

[001 Neville]

Opel are pitching themselves as a premium brand and will be targetting other Europeans - in particular VW.

Agreed, Phil, but I'm sure they'll be happy to take some of the Holden customers too!

Have you all seen the GTC Paris in the Concept cars page? Very nice!





and the Flextreme (I presume they are going to change that name....)

[014 Phil]

I'm sure they would be happy with some of Holden's customers, but I don't think that's where they'll come from. Opel will be more expensive than Holden products and will appeal to a buyer with higher expectations of their vehicle.

The GTC is stunning - a perfect example of why you'd aspire to owning an Opel rather than a Holden.