Under a new strategic plan, Opel says it will launch nine new models by 2020, switching to PSA Group vehicle platforms “faster than originally expected”.
From 2024 onwards, all Opel passenger vehicles will be based on one of two PSA Group architectures (CMP or EMP2 platforms), including the next-generation Corsa, which is due for launch in 2019 and will thus likely share much with the Peugeot 208. The brand says it thereafter plans one major launch per year.
The brand – bought by the PSA Group from General Motors back in March – says all new vehicles will be engineered in Rüsselsheim, which will be transformed into a “global competence centre” for the PSA Group (the French group that also owns Peugeot, Citroën and DS Automobiles). Furthermore, Opel says it plans to enter more than 20 new export markets by 2022.
In addition, the automaker says that by 2024, its entire European passenger car line will be electrified, offering the option of a pure electric variant or plug-in hybrid version alongside traditional internal combustion engines. By 2020, four electrified model lines will be on the market, including a plug-in hybrid Grandland X and a full electric version of the new Corsa.
“This plan is paramount for the company, to protect our employees against headwinds and turn Opel into a sustainable, profitable, electrified and global company,” said Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller.
“Our future will be secured and we will contribute with German excellence to the PSA Group development. The implementation has already started with all teams eager to achieve the objectives,” he added.
The automaker says the plan is designed “with the clear intention to maintain all plants and refrain from forced redundancies in Europe”, but adds that “the necessary and sustainable reduction of labour costs shall be reached with thoughtful measures such as innovative working time concepts, voluntary programmes or early retirement schemes”.
