opel production has commenced for Aus and NZ

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opel production has commenced for Aus and NZ

Postby 003 Cees » 23 Mar 2015, 15:54

from the Opel website:

“Opel has commenced production of the Holden Insignia VXR at the Rüsselsheim factory in Germany.
It's an important day in the history of Opel's Rüsselsheim plant as they just kicked off production of the Holden Insignia VXR, a rebadged version of the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia OPC/VXR. In the months to come, other Holden-badged products will hit the assembly line as Opel plans to kick off production of the Holden Astra GTC, Astra VXR and Cascada which will all be headed to Australia and New Zealand.”

Two years ago Opel could not sell the same line-up. What makes Holden so sure that it will do better? Holden is kidding itself if it thinks that the Holden badge will make all the difference. There is still new stock of Opel Insignias in Australia. These cars are now two years old and they have not found a buyer yet.
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Re: opel production has commenced for Aus and NZ

Postby 001 Neville » 23 Mar 2015, 20:28

I understand what you're saying, Cees, but Aussies seem to think anything with Holden badge must be made is Aus, so Holden will probably do better with a higher quality offering than Opel trying to re-launch itself as a quality car manufacturer when Aussies are used to the Astra and Vectra basic products. I don't personally feel Opel did its brand any favours with the botched launch two years ago!
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Re: opel production has commenced for Aus and NZ

Postby 014 Phil » 24 Mar 2015, 01:17

001 Neville wrote:I understand what you're saying, Cees, but Aussies seem to think anything with Holden badge must be made is Aus, so Holden will probably do better with a higher quality offering than Opel trying to re-launch itself as a quality car manufacturer when Aussies are used to the Astra and Vectra basic products. I don't personally feel Opel did its brand any favours with the botched launch two years ago!


Sorry, can't agree with that. Aussies know Holden only produce the Commodore based models, & some may be aware the Cruze is also locally assembled. Opel never had a chance with a smaller advertising budget & dealer network, but higher price than the Euro everyone seems to want - VW.

Holden are selling the cars through an existing network, so don't have the overheads of a new network. Any sales are simply incremental. Holden stopped bringing in the Astra & Corsa (sold as Barina), because they weren't profitable. The market is much tougher now, and the gloss has somewhat gone off the Holden badge. I believe these days that Australians aspire to a Euro car, but they want one with a Euro badge. Price will make or break these cars, & they will need to be cheaper than an equivalent VW.

Big ask IMO............
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Re: opel production has commenced for Aus and NZ

Postby 003 Cees » 24 Mar 2015, 19:48

What I cannot quite understand is that Holden will bring in the "expensive" versions of the various Opel models. For the same money the consumer can buy an entry model Mercedes, BMW or Audi. I use the words "entry model" lightly here, as they are quite complete with the latest gadgets even at the so called entry price. The problem is that the Holden/Opel re-badge doesn't carry any weight with the Australian public. Owning a Mercedes, BMW or Audi has far more prestige for the same money. In my view Holden should bring in the base model Opels and pitch them against mainstream importers. I agree with Phil that in the past Holden made very little money on the Astra, etc, but the public loved them compared to the later cheap Korean sourced substitutes. Opel has to become more competitive with its cars and that has been the problem in Europe as well. It has to lower production costs or close its doors for good. Its annual losses have been repeatedly over $1.5 billion dollars. That is just crazy! Mind you, the new models seem to have been accepted well in Europe, so there is still hope!
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Re: opel production has commenced for Aus and NZ

Postby 014 Phil » 24 Mar 2015, 20:51

Yep, agree Cees. I was selling Holdens when they had the Opel products, and saw the transition to the Korean rubbish. It certainly made it an easier decision to move to an alternate dealership!
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Re: opel production has commenced for Aus and NZ

Postby 005 Mark » 28 Mar 2015, 15:56

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Re: opel production has commenced for Aus and NZ

Postby 020 Brad » 31 Mar 2015, 21:14

This time around it is a far more considered approach for Holden (and GM). While I don't think sales will be good to begin with, I think this is simply a transitional overlap to help remove the Commodore and the Cruze from the market over the next couple of years. At least the Insignia and Astra will become a slightly more common sight on Australian roads during this transition, and when production stops on these models, Holden can drop the Commodore and consider whether they retain an import Cruze, or move to the Astra.

I think Holden were doing something similar with the Malibu, but I don't think that really worked out very well for them, so perhaps they are trying with the Insignia. I honestly think that every day joe public would have a tough time telling the difference between a Malibu, Commodore and Insignia if it drove past them on the road, and I think that is the plan.

Ford is currently doing something similar with the Falcon FG-X, with the very strong European style. This helps them phase the Falcon out into the Mondeo when production stops.
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Re: opel production has commenced for Aus and NZ

Postby 227 Jason R » 07 Apr 2015, 13:30

I just checked out the specs on the new Insignia VXR. It has some power and zero to 100 is 5.6 seconds but the fuel economy around town is very very poor at 16 liters to 100kms or around 17 mpg. The open road consumption is ok at 7.8 liters to 100kms. That's very similar to what my old 2005 h6 Subaru legacy did and also my current ls1 vz commodore.
In fact the vz uses less fuel around town at about 15.6 liters to 100km. Guess that 4wd system takes up some power to drive just like a Subaru.
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Re: opel production has commenced for Aus and NZ

Postby 227 Jason R » 07 Apr 2015, 13:33

Image

Image
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Re: opel production has commenced for Aus and NZ

Postby 005 Mark » 25 May 2015, 19:00

New Holden/Opel/Vauxhall Astra VXR in NZ. Pic's taken in the Weekend at both Davies in Manukau & Schofields in Newmarket. New Insignia VXR due out in July. :)

Holden Astra VXR 04.jpg


Holden Astra VXR 05.jpg


Holden Astra VXR 09.JPG


http://www.facebook.com/vos.nz

http://www.youtube.com/user/VOSNZ
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