Delta is seeking to dramatically increase its presence on the SA market with the announcement of four imported models – the Coupe, Caravan, Zafira and Omega – with more to come later this year.
Delta is seeking to dramatically increase its presence on the South African market with the announcement of four imported models – the Coupe, Caravan, Zafira and Omega – and there is more to come later this year.
In recent years Delta has been concentrating on marketing locally manufactured Opel Corsa and Astra models.
However, “competing in just over half of the passenger car market has denied us access to the medium to large saloon car segment and to the fast-growing MPV segment,” Ian Nicholls, director of sales and marketing, said recently.
“The process of consolidation in the MIDP has seen new opportunities open up for all manufacturers and distributors to expand into untapped sectors of the market, provided that there is access to a source of export credits to support these imports without attracting severe duty penalties.
“At Delta we have reached a situation where our component export programmes generate the required import duty credits to support a sustainable imported vehicle programme. This has enabled us to begin importing a range of five new models in the Opel product range. These are the Opel Astra Caravan (estate car/station wagon), the Astra Coupe Turbo, the Zafira MPV, and the Omega saloon with a choice of either four cylinder or V6 engines.
“Our expanded Opel brand representation comes at a time when the models that have our keenest interest are, with the exception of the Astra Caravan, all new in the market having been introduced in Europe and other world markets within the past 12 to 18 months, the Coupe as recently as the fourth quarter of 2000,” he added.
“With the full backing of Opel in Germany, we are now able to offer this broader range of products through an established dealer network. Our test programme includes accelerated 100 000km and customer acceptance durability tests to validate the integrity of the body structure, all aspects of mechanical performance, and the capacities of cooling and air conditioner systems,” he said.
