Here’s the interesting part about Opel: not only is it an automotive brand, but Adam Opel AG is also a full-fledged legal entity that just happens to be fully owned by General Motors. And as it stands, GM and Opel have reportedly conducted transactions transferring six Opel facilities in Europe to parent General Motors — according to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
According to the FAZ report that didn’t cite sources, GM took ownership of Opel’s plant in Hungary, an R&D center in Turin, Italy, a factory in Gliwice, Poland, a transmission plant in Austria, as well as other “activities” in the United Kingdom and Russia. Opel’s supervisory board reportedly approved the sale of the properties to GM on December 13. Opel spokesperson Harald Hamprecht declined to comment to the FAZ on “internal transaction”, but also didn’t deny the deal.
In addition, FAZ reported that Opel owes GM 2.5 billion Euros ($3.31 billion USD) on a note that is due at the end of 2014, adding that the sale of the six assets will reportedly earn the Ruesselsheim-based automaker funding through the end of 2016. Following the transactions, Opel still retains ownership of its factories in Germany, one factory in Zaragoza, Spain, as well as the Ellesmere Port plant in the UK.
“The transaction could be in preparation for an unlikely, but theoretically not impossible collapse of Opel”, writes FAZ. “In case of an insolvency, GM would retain parts of the most important manufacturing sites in Europe.”
The GM Authority Take
We should find out if these rumors are true soon enough… like during GM’s Q4 financial report. January can’t come soon enough!
Comments
Like I stated before Chevrolet is cannibalizing Opel…. the brand Chevrolet has more appeal than the Opel…… and put a 1.6 Turbo(gas) in the Cruze and nobody talks about the Opel Astra GTC anymore ….
@CruzeBe
Interesting that someone thinks that “Chevrolet has more appeal than the Opel”. A million customers (or more) per year in Europe think otherwise.
Could you explain what is it what makes the difference in your eyes?
CruzeBe – I’m not sure which planet you from but here on Earth in Europe Chevrolet is a “zero” brand, zero brand cache, zero brand image, zero competitive leadership in any segment, zero brand loyalty and in volume terms almost zero sales compared to Vauxhall / Opel. As an example in the UK Vauxhall outsells Chevrolet by 23 to 1. The only 2 places where Chevrolet is a success is the US and South America which is fine but do not pretend that Chevrolet in any way shape or form is going to take over from Vauxhall / Opel in Europe because it will not happen.
In Germany, the relation is not so important as in Britain.
In the first 11 months of this year, 26.522 new Chevrolets were registered, but 201.295 Opels. 100 to 13.7, or about 7 to 1.
How many German pants are there?
There are four German plants: Bochum, Eisenach, Kaiserslautern (motors and components) and Rüsselsheim. In Rüsselsheim there is also the R+D-Center and the Design-Center.
In view of the contributions to global GM vehicle design and development by the Russelsheim design and engineering centers, I would think that retention of that activity by GM would be an integral factor in any dissolution of Opel.
Joseph, if this is indeed the case (it appears that it is not), then there is no reason that Opel design and engineering can’t be folded into global GM R&D operations. In fact, this is already taking place today, but is structurally/organizationally under Opel. It’s a case of Opel being its own legal entity, with Opel employees having the ability to become — at any point in time — those of GM. Perhaps this is something that will take place as GM further centralizes operations, ownership, and processes.
So again, the R&D taking place in Russelsheim doesn’t have to be part of this supposed Opel bankruptcy (which isn’t likely); rather, said R&D can be easily moved (operationally, legally, and physically) to GM corporate.
The Rüsselsheim ITEZ (Internationales Technisches EntwicklungsZentrum – International Technical Development Center) is already for many decades an integral part of “global GM R&D operations”, i.e. in as far as those operations can be seen as an “integrated” operation.
Cars and engines developed by the ITEZ have been produced under other GM brands in many parts of the world, as Cadillac or Saturn and Buick in North America, as Chevrolet in Brasil or Holden in Australia.
So, the international importance is given, but the big question is, if the ITEZ can survive the withdrawal of GM from the European Market, i.e. the end of any automobile production by GM in Europe.
ITEZ Rüsselsheim is, as far as I can see, deeple intertwined with the productive process in the Rüsselsheim factory and losing that could be devastative. The nearest GM plant would be thousands of kilometers away.
But the remaining engineers might be integrated in the Hyundai development and design center also located in Rüsselsheim…
Given GM’s global manufacturing nature (and the GM global processes), I find your description of the engineering center’s intertwined nature with the Russelsheim plant questionable. But even if that is the case, there is no reason that the engineering talent can’t be integrated otherwise.
My thoughts about the Rüsselsheim ITEZ and its integration with the plant are, of course, not based on intimate internal knowledge of the Opel installations.
As I sais, the engineering talent there can be simply integrated in the Hyundai development center in Rüsselsheim ….
Closing down GM production in Europe is a big political blow which will make GM suffer a lot, and I guess that also a lot of engineers will not any longer work for that company which is throwing lots of their relatives and friends into misery.
The next GM plant then would, I think, be the one at St. Petersburg, 1,750 km or more than 1000 miles away.
Currently, the ITEZ plays a very important role for GM globally, by having the responsability for the Delta and Epsilon platforms. That would be, in my view, be endangered by closing down Opel (a move which would be very welcome for PSA, Renault and FIAT, who could finally return to profitability).
Said it before and will say it again….Opel needs to be gone.
yes, and kill 500,000 jobs in Europe…
“Said it before and will say it again….Opel needs to be gone”
And replaced with what exactly?
with buick hahahah;D many people here suggest it but they have no clue that buick is completely unknown to us europeans and it won´t change anything if you put a buick badge on an opel car. opel is still selling more cars in germany than buick in the us. how many inhabitants has america? about 300 million and germany has only 80 million.
@European Buick in the US is not a mainstream brand; it’s not positioned to be one, and its vehicles are not priced to be in the mainstream like Chevrolet or Ford.
Sometimes, however, a new or “unknown” brand is better than a brand with a damaged reputation. I’m not suggesting that Opel is, in fact, damaged — mind you… just doing my best to maintain the accuracy of the conversation 😉
Smart business to asset strip or cherry pick the best bits. The rest can be shuttered as the model cycle comes to a close.
I said it before and ill say it again opel needs to be gone. it does not fit in with the global strategy idea.
YOUR “global strategy idea”, Timothy.
GM management obviously disagrees with your ideas.
Unfortunately timothy Opel IS THE GLOBAL STRATEGY!
According to the FAZ article http://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/unternehmen/geldmangel-opel-verkauft-auslandsfabriken-an-general-motors-12000969.html the internal sale of facilities from subsidiary to owner serves mainly to secure a credit of several thousands of millions USD by GM company to Opel, giving Opel financial stability until 2016.
This reverses the transfer of European facilities to Adam Opel AG in 2009, which took them out of the direct bankruptcy mass of GM Corporation.
Of course, this transfer could also serve to take out some European facilities out of the bankruptcy mass in case of a bankruptcy of Adam Opel AG, which is “theoretically possible” according to the FAZ article, but “probably never occuring”.
The same article also purports to know of a plan to produce the Chevrolet Cruze in the Gliwice plant from October 2013 on, a plan denied by an Opel spokesperson as also “technically not possible”.
Makes me think of that classic Nat King Cole song… “Unavoidable”. Maybe I have the title wrong, but that’s what comes to mind anyhow…
Is this a German site ? So many people for Opel , it amazes me…
“Is this a German site ? So many people for Opel , it amazes me…”
No it’s just common sense really.
@CruzeBe:
General Motors is an international operation, producing in 30 countries on all continents. Europe is an important market for all big auto makers, also for GM.
BTW, I had a question to you which you hadn’t answered. I would still like to lern your opinions.
Commenting on your first post in this thread, I would like to add that I do not think that Chevrolet is “cannibalizing Opel”. In Opel’s “home market” Europe, Chevrolet is rather competing against the other Korean brands, which still sell twice as much cars as Chevrolet (Kia) or more than three times as much (Hyundai).
In Germany, Chevrolet sold this year about the same number of cars as Honda and Mitsubishi, two other East Asian brands.
opel could sell much more cars in germany, but thanks to general motors and rumors in the media like on gm auhority about opels future many potential and current opel customers are confused and don´t buy a new opel car or switch to another brand predominantly hyundai, kia, mazda or ford but no chevrolet as many believe here! the koreans are the real winner when gm kills the opel brand.
Dear “european”, Chevrolet ist one of those Koreans…
And no, the first to try and damage Opel by talking bad, and keep evoking a brankruptcy of Opel, are those German nationalists who were so furious when GM decided not to give up the European market, i.e. Opel. They could not overcome their deception that GM did not make way for Volkswagen to become the world’s No. 1 car maker before 2018, to contend only with Toyota but no longer with GM.
@european Perhaps GM’s next goal should be to address that (incorrect perception) that “koreans are the real winner when gm kills the opel brand.”
Chevrolet being one of those Korean brands.
Daewoo renamed.
Mind you: Camaro and Corvette are listed in the KBA statistics not under the Chevrolet brand, but under GM, because it is a different organisation, namely GM, which had applied for their certification for Germany, not the company which continues the Daewoo imports.
Chevrolet is a global brand… it’s not Korean, and it’s not a renamed Daewoo, which GM purchased and completely integrated into its global operations, be it R&D/engineer/design, manufacturing, logistics, etc. Rather, Daewoo became Chevrolet in Korea — as it was already selling Chevy vehicles anyway. Am I misunderstanding you?
HarryX (posted December 31, 2012 at 4:24 am) is right.
Sure, GM projects Chevrolet as one of its two global brands (besides Cadillac), but … Chevrolet has its history (besides, just like Opels are branded “Vauxhall” on Great Britain (and probably Northern Ireland, too), Chevrolets are branded as “Holden” in Australia).
But the Chevrolet brand was introduced (as a mass, mainstream brand) in Europe by simply rebadging Daewoo cars. From one day to the other, the very same cars which were sold for many years as Daewoo stood at their deales with a Chevrolet badge. That was the only change to the cars. E.g. the Daewoo Lacetti which was sold in Europe as the Daewoo Nubira was simply renamed to Chevrolet Nubira (BTW, the same car which introduced the Buick brand in China as the original Buick Excelle). All Daewoo dealers changed overnight from Daewoo dealers to Chevrolet dealers. Brand loyalty was carried on from Daewoo to Chevrolet (a neighbor in my house used to drive Daewoo cars, now she owns a Chevrolet Cruze; well, she has some personal contacts to a Daewoo/Chevrolet dealer).
While the Korean Chevrolet got in Jan-Nov 2011 in Germany 26’522 new car registrations, the US Chevrolets (Camaro, Corvette) got 768 new car registrations, out of a total of 1’050 GM sales. And the Corvettes and Camaros were in all probability sold by completely different deales (“US Cars” or some such).
So that is what forms the image of the Chevrolet brand in todays Europe. It will require some work to change that.
No claim that GM wants to project Chevrolet and Cadillac as global brands can avoid to reckon with the facts on the ground.
The brand Chevrolet has again a different history in South America, especially Brasil, where GM cars are manufactured since 85 years.
“Opel still retains ownership of its factories in Germany, one factory in Zaragoza, Spain, as well as the Ellesmere Port plant in the UK”
This is incorrect, the Vauxhall plants at Luton and Ellesmere Port as well as the Millbrook test track are all wholly owned by GM and have been since 2008.
I can’t confirm yet but as far as I know this deal involved the 4 plants in Germany, 1 in Poland and 1 in Spain. Hungary and Russia are not Opel plants but joint ventures with GM and Suzuki / AutoVaz
Re Hungary: not to confuse two plants:
1. Szentgotthard, owned by GM and sold in this deal from Opel to GM parent company; Szentgottard produces engines and transmissions, and had recently been enlarged.
2. Esztergom, owned by Suzuki. Suzuki builds there the Agila which is just a rebadged Suzuki (Agila A was based on Suzuki Wagon R+, Agila B based on Suzuki Splash.
Re Russia:
The St. Petersburg plant is wholly owned by GM, but reports to GMIO (i.e. China/Korea), not to Opel, although Opel Antara and Opel Astra are built there side by side with Chevrolet cars.
Yes Observer7 you’re right I was thinking of the GM-AVTOVAZ joint venture in Togliatti
It seems to me that uneducated comments like “needs to be gone” and “are there germans on this site” if people don’t agree, are typical and in line with the negative unfounded speculations of the FAZ.
How can it be that a “serious” newspaper, which the FAZ is claiming to be, does jump from a factual transfer of assets to a bankrupt Opel and writes in the same sentence that it is extremely unlikely to happen?…what is he intention here other than provoking cheap and quick image-damage?
Regarding the “Global strategy” : why do you believe VAG and Toyota are globally succesful? They thrive on the apparent image that quality is made in Germany and Japan, not in the US or elsewhere. They sell products in line with this image. Chevy is not perceived as “high quality” it is now perceived as a cheap Daewoo-rebrand.
If GM as an administrator decides to flush their only “made in germany” brand with a 150 year history you have to ask yourself first: what is the alternative? Chevy? Buick? Cadillac?
Try selling Opel “Made in Germany” globally and ensure a consistent product at the same time.
Locking Opel to Europe only means no chance of profit. VW is not making their profitable sales in Europe either.
I understand your point, but in Europe the first Chevrolets were unmasked, rebranded Daewoo’s . Basically the only change at the end of the production line was the brand sticker. It is perceived that way here too. Cheaper than a Daewoo. The new ones have an very Asian styling, so the link to Daewoo (asia) is maintained. In my opinion Chevrolet “lost” its consistent image there and then. Regarding a “new” Brand vs Opel, look at Saturn. It will take a very long time to built a certain image. until then you only invest.
If Opel as a “made in germany” brand is flushed then that marketshare will be devided up. Most will go to V.A.G, Hyundai and Ford. Chevrolet may pick up some but certainly not what one may hope for. Be realistic.
GM must realise Opel is the only (!) European , German brand they have. They have nothing equivalent against V.A.G. other than Opel. Buyers will link globally “Made in Germany or Japan” = Good investment.
The GM brands also all need to get lighter and the engines need an upgrade. Built the right product and it will sell. Quality needs to be a given. Today no errors are allowed anywhere as Brand loyalty in this segment is not that high. Buyers are loyal to facts: low fuel consumption, high resale ( image) and reliability. Brand image is consistent to these factual points, Brand damage will automatically return in sales. A car is a big investment and times are though. You’re not speculating on buying a car if GM is not absolutely clear about their intentions.
GM needs also to move to a “need to know basis” communication regarding its brands to avoid any misinterpretation or speculation by the media. Only obvious positive information should leak out and be released to press. Any negative comment should be met with a clear obvious positive resonse regarding brand continuity…
So what “made in Germany” I have rather have a Chevrolet made in Korea than one made in Germany .The time Germany stand for quality is long gone even Mercedes ,BMW ,and Audi lost there quality .
And yes I am European Belgian , and from what I hear and read on forums is that the higher priced Opel is losing their appeal ,people go for a lesser priced and good looking cars from the Chevrolet brand . thats what mean by Chevrolet is cannibalizing Opel.
Who needs an Opel I f You have Chevrolet ?
if i want to drive a cheap car then i would choose a dacia but i have at least the money to buy an “expensive??” Opel car. who says chevrolet has good looking cars, except for the corvette and camaro? i am currently driving a Zafira Tourer and i am very pleased with it. i also had the chance to test drive a chevrolet orlando but i didn´t like the materials used in the interior, the design of the car and the processing. btw the astra and cruze starts both at € 14.990,00 in Germany so much for the expensive Opel. if I had to choose another van i would take the new 2013 kia carens which reminds me a lot of an opel.
@CruzeBe:
So in your view the decisive criterion is the lower price for a Chevrolet compared to a corresponding Opel car
That fits with the image of Chevrolet being one of those Korean import brands which sell by the price.
But it might be that Hyundai and Kia are much more “cannibalizing” Opel sales than the much smaller Chevrolet brand.
Jan-Nov 2012 new car registrations in Germany:
Hyundai 91’644
Kia 50’800
Chevrolet 26’522 (KR only, US counted under “GM”)
Ssangyong 560
Chevrolet-KR is in the range of Honda and Mitsubishi:
Honda 24’680
Mitsubishi 22’049
@myself:
Let me add that this perception of Chevrolet cars being cheaper (or less costly, or less expensive) than their Opel models, also fits with with the GM brand strategy, as I perceive it, i.e. trying to place Opel more up-market than Chevrolet, promising higher value for, well unavoidbly, higher prices.
It’s all about perception…
And adding two more points on how the Chevrolet brand is perceived in Europe (looking at Europe from living in Germany):
First: three quotes from GM’s 2011 Annual Report (page 36) describing the five operating segments of GM worldwide (GMNA = GM North America; GMIO = GM Inernational Operations; GME = GM Europe; GMSA = GM South America; GM Financial):
“GMIO hassales, manufacturing and distribution operations in Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe (including Russia and the other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States among others), Africa and the Middle East.” … “GMIO distributes Chevrolet brand vehicles which, when sold in Europe, are included in GME vehicle sales volume and market share data.”
“GMIO records the financial results of Chevrolet brand vehicles that it distributes and sells in Europe.”
Note: there is no word of GMNA regarding sales of Chevrolet vehicles in Europe.
Second: the cars sold by GMIO in Europe (Spark, Aveo, Cruze, Orlando) are engineered and designed by GMIO, or more concretely by GM Korea, the former GMDAT (GM Daewoo Automotive & Technology). I am not at all sure about the Chevrolet Malibu, though. That might have been developed mainly in the USA.
These facts work to create the perception of Chevrolet as a mainly Korean brand.
@ cruzebe
Again. JD power lists the best brands and almost all are German and Japanese. Why on earth is there no GM brand in the Top 10? Who is to blame here?
If GM does its sole job as a brand administrator properly and seriously, GM could leverage Opel’s “made in Germany” heritage. Throwing away such a realistic potential is a waste. Think about it. GM ONLY needs to stop constantly feeding the negative press (like this rather poor article full of assumptions) and concentrate on its sole responsibility: Brand protection and image building.
Anyway, Happy New Year!
@HarryX: “GM could leverage Opel’s “made in Germany” heritage.”
Well, that is what GM is doing, and worldwide. Have a look at Opel’s worldwide site http:www.opel.com and Opel’s central slogan “Wir leben Autos” (German for “we live cars”). Browse a little bit thru the various countries where Opel is present, and see the same slogan everywhere.
For example on the “about us” page of Opel Australia http://www.opel-australia.com.au/experience/about-opel.html where you find in the text »“Wir leben Autos” does not only refer to our German roots and the love we share for German engineering,« The same at Opel South Africa http://www.opel.co.za/experience-opel/opel-about.html or Opel Chile http://www.opel.cl/experiencia/acerca-de-opel.html
It does not work instantly, and it is not so easy to introduce a new brand from scratch (instead of simply renaming an established import brand), but GM obviously does use Opel’s “made in Germany” heritage.
Harry — which JD power study are you referring to, specifically? I ask because pretty much all of the recent studies from the firm have listed at least two GM brands, if not more. Some links would be appreciated.
And… Happy New Year, guys!
We have to remember this site has become international and subscribers have a “world view” of their own little world they live in. JD Power scores for different areas and as far as I know have no overall world view.
Anyway here is the US view of quantified reliability. In our world Cadillac is well over Mercedes/BMW/VW. Buick and Chevrolet are well over BMW and VW. And the truck only GMC (trucks normally score lower than cars) virtually ties with BMW and is over VW.
http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2012008
BUT, and this is a big BUT, scores today are virtually meaningless. We are talking Cadillac at 1.04 problems per vehicle vs. Mercedes at 1.12. Meaningless difference to a customer. Even the best at .86 vs the worst at 1.92 means only 1 vs 2 problems in the first 3 years of ownership. Again to the customer not much of a difference.
Today folks hang on to opinions of the past or the latest media induced witch hunt.
J.D. Power themselves provide a warning about the significance of their statistics, wich are the result of asking customers about their perception of car dependability: “Consumer perceptions of vehicle quality and dependability are often based on historical experiences or anecdotes and may be out of line with the current reality. ” Lot of subjective factors in there.
A different kind of statistics is based on results of the compulsory technical checks of cars, and their differences according to automaker, brand, and name plate. But this does not only reflect actual technical quality, but also the attitude of their owners towards preventive maintenance and regular visits to the service center. Some prefer to rely on an impartial institution to tell them what really needs to be repaired in their car.
Overall: be careful with statistics, and even more carful with drawing any conclusions from statistics.
These are the reports I referred to that google came up with and provided a decent overview.
http://cars.uk.msn.com/features/jd-power-reliability-survey-2012-the-best-car-brands
http://de.autoblog.com/2012/06/01/jd-power-studie-2012-diese-automarken-machen-glucklich/
I agree it is only valid for the local sales territory.
Actually to complete the picture: the mirror side from the same site.
http://cars.uk.msn.com/features/jd-power-reliability-survey-2012-the-worst-car-brands#image=12
Opel is 2nd, but the 3.4 % down by Chevy are another huge gap compared to the other incrementals. I don’t know what to say. But something is going wrong somewhere…
I think we are missing the point a little now.
1. The FAZ article, cited in this article, was based on cheap sensational journalism. It is far fetched and meant to throw oil on the fire.
2. The Opel brand name is the only german brand in the GM portfolio. It would be proof of GM’s inability to manage any brand if they cannot even make Opel a credible competitor in todays difficult market and instead choose to remove it from their portfolio.
3. Furthermore closing down ITEZ AND suggesting the option to “move all these people to an important competitor of GM” is not only unrealistic: it is nonsense. Hyundai does not need all of a sudden 6000 engineers. Also, Engineering and Design are only interfacing. You cannot move engineers and make them designers.
GM , at the moment, cannot develop without the ITEZ and if there is the slightest realistic chance of Opel being shut down, the best engineers will quickly leave and fill up the eventual empty spots in the area. Probably that is already provoked by articles like these.
By the way, is Chevy making serious money in Europe?
GM management does actually make it very clear by their ACTIONS that they have no intention to get rid of Opel either in the short or the long term.
Otherwise there would be no development of cars like the Adam, Mokka or Cascada, and there would be no efforts to introduce the Opel brand parallel to the Chevrolet/Holden line in Australia, Chile and probabably a number of other countries in the near future.
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Opel bankrupt it’s true ,
for vauxhall it’s the same .