Opel Launches Mokka Crossover With Non-Conformist Theme
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Accompanying the launch of the new Opel Mokka is a campaign centered around the self-confidence and nonconformist theme carrying the “Don’t Blend In” tagline. Developed by lead international advertising agency Scholz & Friends OPC, the campaign aims to portray Opel’s first sub-compact crossover in a dissimilar light, while showcasing the Mokka as the perfect partner for all drivers who happen to be self-confident, different, and who wish to stand out from the crowd.
The TV spot will be shown on all high-viewership TV channels, according to Opel.
The campaign also portrays self-confidence in print and digital media by offering up headlines such as “Fits to the misfits” and “Switch your life from repeat to shuffle”. It will be present in all large European markets on TV, in print, online, and at Point of Sale locations, having commenced in Germany on October 1
It will be interesting to see how Buick will market the Encore — its variant of the Mokka.
The recently launched Adam was a brilliantly designed car with a totally stupid name, this is a deadly dull, dreary Chevrolet clone with yet another daft name. It will join the Antara as an overpriced highly unsaleable lame duck for dealers to get stuck with on their forecourts. GM needs to get a grip on things in Europe fast before it’s too late.
Sry dude, but the Chevrolet Trax is a Mokka-clone, like most of the Chevrolets in Europe are Opel-clones. This car was designed in Rüsselsheim.
The Mokka was still ordered more than 30,000 times even before it launched. The feedback is very positive to this car. So please inform yourself before saying such wrong things…
(And yes the Antara was/is unsaleable because it’s an overpriced Chevrolet)
Wrong, apart from the Mokka all Chevrolet models in Europe are designed in Korea or the US nothing to do with Opel, but that was not the point I was making – one of the many reasons the Antara is such a flop is that you can buy virtually the same car for 1000s less from Chevrolet and the same will apply with the Mokka and Trax. Also a large part of the 30,000 orders so far will be demonstrator cars for every Opel/ Vauxhall dealer across Europe, if you then spread the remainder around all selling markets the number starts to look quite small. Sorry to say but this has failure written all over it to my mind.
David, this used to be the case during the time of the Tosca/Epica:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2009/09/money-pit-chevrolet-epica-daewoo-tosca/
Since the Chevy lineup is now a global one, the vehicles — starting with Trax and Malibu — are designed globally. For instance, the new Malibu was designed and engineered in all of GM’s operations around the world, including the U.S., Korea, Germany, and Austrlia. This will continue to be the case going forward.
Alex thanks for the input but you too are not getting the point of what I said. There is a confusion over platforms and design. Epsilon II is a global platform and was engineered at Opel BUT the Insignia is an Opel design the Malibu was designed in the US and is totally different. Gamma II underpins the Mokka and Trax and aside from different grilles and some minor trim they are the identical, the same applies to the Antara and Captiva (Theta platform). This is the crux of the problem, Chevrolet will be selling a virtually identical car to the Vauxhall / Opel version but will undercut it on price. This will not be the case with the Mailbu and Insignia which look and feel totally different cars. GM have even admitted this practice because the reason the Trax will not be sold in the US is because the Buick Encore is the same car. I still say the Mokka is going to be a lemon for the same reason, the latest sales results for Opel in Germany show a massive 26% fall in sales and I think cynically trying to pass off a cheap Chevrolet with Opel badges and a large price premium will do nothing to help the situation .
David, I don’t follow how the Insignia/Malibu are a different car, while the Mokka/Trax are the same. To me, they are all platform mates with different styling (sheetmetal) and interior design. Sometimes they may have different engines, but going forward, the engine ranges will likely become more similar than different.
Ultimately, the problem you’re illustrating is that Chevrolet and Opel occupy the same space in Europe. The solution to that is to move Opel upmarket and let Chevy take care of all mainstream (non-luxury) customers.
Alex let me see if I can simplify this. The Insignia and Malibu share the same platform but they have unique body and interior design, stand them side by side and customers would perceive them to be 2 different cars. The same cannot be said of the Mokka and Trax. If you said to customer you can have the same car, built in the same factory with the same styling and interior engines etc but pay another 700 euros for an Opel grille and badges there will not be many that say yes. This is the problem. I do think there is room for Opel and Chevrolet in Europe but not selling identical cars with 1 (Chevrolet) being cheaper that will just undermine Opel’s already weak position in the market. I still think this will be a repeat of the Antara / Captiva situation – in Europe the Captiva outsells the Antara by more than 2 to 1. That is my point.
That is part of the truth, in EU Chevrolet is cheaper than Opel but the difference in quality is big. Astra and Cruze, Malibu and Insignia and probably this. They do not apply same quality standards for parts for Mokka and Trax on same production line because they can have lower price for Trax.
Alexander — can you share some examples of this?
Chevrolet is in reliability reports far behind Opel in Europe. Opel Astra, Corsa, and recently Insignia gets good marks for used car reliability from TUV, DEKRA, ADAC and GTU. Older versions of Opel – Daewoo rebadged cars are not so reliable as Opel was. I had Opel models from 80 and 90′s, and i was satisfied but my two colleagues had newer and from that age Daewoo and Chevrolet and they are not so satisfied.
David, why can’t the same be said of the Mokka/Trax as it can of the Insignia/Malibu? I think the two vehicles are different enough, including exterior and interior styling.
But as I said in my previous comment, the strategy with Opel needs to be adjusted, with the most clear solution being moving the brand upmarket into the luxury space. That will eliminate the overlap between Chevrolet and Opel.
Opel can’t be moved upmarket because the brand hasn’t the image for that; especially not for the luxury space!
The solution is that Chevrolet will no longer sell in Western-Europe or only very cheap cars comparing to Dacia.
Sorry Alex you are way off the with Mokka / Trax, they will be seen as the same car in the market. If you were right GM would sell it in the US but they won’t because of Buick which is in their words they are the same car.
“Opel can’t be moved upmarket because the brand hasn’t the image for that; especially not for the luxury space!
The solution is that Chevrolet will no longer sell in Western-Europe or only very cheap cars comparing to Dacia”
Absolutely right!
“Sorry Alex you are way off the with Mokka / Trax, they will be seen as the same car in the market. If you were right GM would sell it in the US but they won’t because of Buick which is in their words they are the same car.”
Incorrect. The reason the Trax isn’t coming to the States is not because of the Encore, which is what the Buick Verano is to the Chevy Cruze. Both vehicles can co-exist in the same market since one is a luxury vehicle, the other is a mainstream form of transportation with no luxury aspirations.
To the contrary, the Trax is not coming to the States because of the Equinox. GM feels that the Trax would encroach on the very popular and very profitable Equinox, thereby making the operations less profitable.
Again, the Trax can be sold in the same market as the Encore in the same way that the Verano and the Cruze.
As for Opel’s brand being tarnished to prevent an up-market move: this is a short-term perspective. With time, a well-planned strategy and thorough execution, as well as product that speaks for itself, anything is possible.
Instead of the complicated “Opel can’t be moved upmarket because the brand hasn’t the image for that”, you could simply have proclaimed that the image can’t be changed, because of the image.
Nobody goes downtown, its just too crowded there. (Yogi Berra ?)
Well, Opel Mokka/Buick Encore on the one hand and Chevrolet Trax are certainly closely related, but the differences are more than cosmetic.
Compare images of the two cars, like this one of the Mokka:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Opel-Mokka_weiss_Ruesselsheim150J_Seitenansicht-tief_LWS1407.jpg
and this one of the Trax:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chevrolet_Trax_-_Mondial_de_l%27Automobile_de_Paris_2012_-_006.jpg
There are also the reports by Opel engineers on their work to refine the chassis of the Mokka/Encore (“The SUV’s chassis was tuned by GM engineers in Europe”, said the Buick China press release on the launch of the Encore in China). There was no word that the same work on the chassis was done for the Trax, too.
On the other hand, I do believe that it is harder to keep different models on the same platform apart, the smaller the car is.
Differentiating any vehicle, small, large, or anything in between, is all about having a clear and distinct vision for the products that are being differentiated.
In the case of the Encore/Mokka and Trax, there really aren’t distinct visions for either product — as both (or all three?) seem to occupy the “mainstream” segment (even though Buick keeps touting that the Encore is somehow “luxurious”). For starters, GM should go back to the drawing board with the Encore and make it a vehicle worthy of being described as “luxurious”, which isn’t the case right now. Having done that, everything else will fall into place.
I found a video on Youtube which a user from Brasil composed, producing a free mix of images and video clips of both the Chevrolet Trax and the Buick Encore aka Opel Mokka: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqSALHnGABU
Or search for title “Nova Chevrolet Trax/Enjoy 2013 – todos os detalhes da mini captiva”
You have been listening to the GM publicity machine!! Trax is not going to the US because of the Encore and yes they are trying to protect profits – Buick profits! The Cruze and Verano (like Insignia / Malibu) look totally different even though they are on the same platform. This idea of selling almost identical cars in the same market (as with Trax and Mokka) reminds me of the J car in the 80s, people bought the Chevy Cavalier but did not see what they were paying for with a Cadillac Cimmaron! Tell me why will someone will buy a Mokka for 700 euros more than a Trax? You are right about the profit aspect, by selling the Trax GM are undermining what Opel will make on the Mokka. As I said before this is another Captiva / Antara episode all over again.
“Trax is not going to the US because of the Encore and yes they are trying to protect profits – Buick profits!”
Is this opinion, or fact?
I don’t see how you can say that the Cruze and Verano are “completely different” and not say the same about the Trax and Encore. Have you driven both vehicles?