Opel Plans To Hire 350 Engineers
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As Opel looks to break even and push out all-new products, GM’s European arm is hiring 350 engineers to support the ongoing product offensive. Of the 350, 300 will be dispersed to the International Technical Development Center in Rüsselsheim, while the remaining 50 will be sent to the Torino Engineering Center.
The main areas of hiring are simulation, validation, construction, cost engineering and accessories engineering. When it comes to powertrain, Opel is mainly looking for experts in the areas of engine and transmission engineering and calibration.
The GM subsidiary says that the hiring process has already started and will be finalized by year’s end.
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Or should we say Buick/Opel/Vauxhall has hired more engineers.
This is GMs next major focus of change in product at these division and they will need more people to do it. This is a very positive sign for all these joined divisions.
No, it is Opel who wants to hire new engineers for its Internationales Technisches Entwicklungszentrum (ITDC) in Rüsselsheim which is property of Adam Opel AG to be precise. Future Buicks will be fully developed and designed in Germany. The same thing happened already with Vauxhall. A new Buick Enclave won´t be sold in Europe, but its styling comes from there instead of the American design studios. GM US can focus more on Cadillac and Chevrolet. However, it will be interesting to see the collaboration between the Germans and the Chinese and how they will manage to satisfy Opel/Vauxhall and Buick customers since the European and Chinese market are the biggest for these cars. Anyway the Germans benefit most of this strategy and it shows that GM supports Opel by giving them responsibility of the Buick brand in terms of engineering or even marketing.
http://media.gm.com/content/media/intl/en/opel/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/intl/en/2013/opel/08-01-opel-is-hiring-350-engineers.html
Why are you so sure that a “new Buick Enclave won´t be sold in Europe”?
It would be a great act as an Opel flagship, competing size-wise with the Audi Q7.
You can label it anyway you want but the three models are pretty much joined as one global unit with only a few market specific models and tuning.
Each part of this joining will be charged with development of different parts for the sum of the cars they will produce.
Well the reason Opel may have the nod here is they want an Euro influence in this car that will appeal to younger Americans and Chinese.
The fact is you can sell an American and Chinaman a Euro car or an American car but is very difficult to sell a Euro a American car and damn near impossible to sell him a Chinese car. I think this had as much to do with it as anything as well the fact Opel already had the well established engineering staff that the other two did not really have.
Might note the styling also will come from China too on many models. GM has a very large and well established design staff in China and they are going to use them much with this line of products. Many of the show cars and some of the styling on the present cars came from there.
You can try to have as much Euro pride as you like but there are three continents in this boat and they will be paddling their share.
They will do fine in each market as long as they badge the cars properly for each markets. As you have already proven Continental pride is important in Europe, In America it matters little and China only cars if it has a Tri Shield as it means more than Opel to them and they hate their own cars there as there are no Chinese cars in the top 10.
This is for all purposes one division with many faces Grasshopper.
Well, after the decision to close down Opel in Australia, further discussion on this topic seems to be irrelevant.
Can we be part of it…..or it is just news?
Good news to hear that Opel Europe are hiring engineers but very sad with –>> “Opel Australia will be closing its operations in Australia and winding down its dealer network”.
With Opel growing its international presence this makes so much sense, Oh wait its not its actually declining… Hmmm heres to Opel/Vauxhal/Buick or Opehalick :-)..,
Sure, Mr. Scott, but while GM has a number of engineering and design centers spread over all five continents, certain tasks are centered in one or another, and the leadership of various tasks is centered in this or that development center. And the leading personnel for the common design line of Opel/Vauxhall and Buick (maybe in future again also Holden?) has now been concentrated at Rüsselsheim.
So the responsability for the sub-compact platform “Gamma” is, according to my knowledge, located in Seoul, at GM Korea (GM majority), while the development of the compact and midsize architectures Delta and Epsilon is lead from the Rüsselsheim ITEZ, as far as public knowledge says.
Besides, I have found in a 2009 GM Europe “facts and figures” this info on GM engineering and design centers:
From the 2009 “GM Europe – Facts and Figures”:
“GM operates
12 vehicle engineering centers in 12 countries on six continents.
11 GM design centers in nine countries on five continents.”
The demise of Saab reduced each number by 1. So I have deleted Trollhättan and Pixbo from the following table, but added Torina, Italy, where engines are developed.
I have drawn up this list from the map which accompanied the above quoted statement. The list is grouped by continent and country, with the country designated by the 3-letter code according to ISO 3166. Then follows an E for engineering and an D for design, or a dash in case this function was not indicated on this map.
It would be interesting to know how many people actually do work at those various centers. I have appended the numbers for Rüsselsheim and Millbrook according to my best knowledge.
America
——-
BRA ED São Paulo
CAN E- Oshawa
MEX E- Toluca
USA -D Los Angeles
USA ED Warren
Asia
—-
CHN ED Shanghai (PATAC)
IND ED Bangalore
KOR -D Incheon
KOR E- Seoul
Europe
——
DEU ED Rüsselsheim >6000
GBR -D Coventry
GBR E- Millbrook 80
ITA E- Torino (engines)
Africa
——
ZAF E- Port Elisabeth
Oceania
——-
AUS ED Melbourne
Gee you have finally discovered the global platform concept GM is working on.
GM has these sites around the world and certain platforms are focused at each one. Many are just doing new versions or replacements for the platforms they created in the first place.
Add to that each site is not just all Germans in Germany, Koreans in Germany and Americans in Detroit. Each of these sites have a mix of people from around the world. They also have global contact to share info and work with others that can help in some areas of each.
GM works on these platforms at one site as abase but are in contact with the engineers in each market to make sure they deliver what is needed for each. These things are 24/7 operations anymore and they work around the clock so remain in contact with all markets.
While the base for the development may be in on place these cars are now global They may have a lead base but the work was done globally.
Case in point The Camaro was engineered at the Holden base but also in 24/7 contact with Detroit. It was designed by a Korean Stylist and built in Canada. You may call it a American car because it was just sold here till lately but the truth is it is a global car and many different parts of GM touched it like the rest of the line ups we will see.
GM is no longer just a cooperation with a bunch of different divisions around the world. It is a Global company today that is building and selling cars globally as one unit now. They only tailor the cars locally now.
Hell many of Buicks new styling will come from England and China. The Lacrosse if I recall was a Chinese design.
Wheres the Coventry design centre? You would think they would put it in Luton
I know GM had one in Birmingham a long while back..
Probably the UK based design centre is there because Coventry University is on the door-step. It’s automotive engineering and design courses are recognised within the industry as being amongst the best anywhere, with a global selection of post-grads to choose from
Less—> Melbourne/Australia-Opel Australia pulled there operations yesterday…sad day!
Maybe these engineers can come up with a Adam 3dr estate (maybe introduce a van too replacing Astravan)