Opel, GM's European subsidiary, is planning to turn around more than a decade of losses and corporate turmoil by launching 27 models in the next four years, with an eye to taking 8 per cent of the European market by 2022.
That would be a dramatic increase from its current 5.8 per cent share – and would see it overtake PSA Peugeot Citroën as second-placed European carmaker, behind only Volkswagen.
By 2016, if the plan works, Opel will have started making profits again. Critical to that will be the launches of several key models, including a new Corsa, which will break cover later this year, and a raft of new SUV-style cars.
Opel currently has only the small Mokka crossover and the Insignia-based Country Tourer in its 4x4 portfolio. That will change rapidly, as replacements for the Meriva and Zafira will both get an injection of SUV styling; there will also be a replacement for the unloved Antara 4x4 and an Astra-based rival for the Nissan Qashqai.
Opel also wants to have closer ties with its parent company. The new Corsa is being touted as a touchstone of this ideal. The current model is based on a platform shared with Fiat for its Punto, but Opel boss Karl-Thomas Neumann has said the new Corsa will use a purely GM platform. That may also lead to the unwinding of its agreement to develop models with Peugeot Citroën.
Opel says the tie-up, which was once touted as a plan to save both companies billions in development costs, will continue only if it bears both financial and design fruit.
The next Zafira is slated to be developed with the Peugeot 5008 and Citroën C4 Picasso. The next Insignia will also underpin a future Peugeot 508 and Citroën DS5.
