Continuing to work towards the objective of breaking even by 2015, General Motors’ Germany-based subsidiary Opel had a fairly successful 2013 by stabilizing and even growing its market share.
According to preliminary figures, Opel and sister brand Vauxhall posted a 5.61 percent market share in Europe in 2013. To note, the brands finished 2012 with a 5.59 percent share of the European market.
Meanwhile, Opel grew its market share in Germany according to the Kraftfahrtbundesamt (Federal Office for Motor Vehicles) “by some 6.9 to some 7.0 percent”, according to a news release. We’ll take that to read that market share grew from (roughly) 6.9 percent to 7.0 percent, rather than being increased by that much.
“Our model offensive is now beginning to bear fruit”, said Opel Board director for Sales Peter Christian Küspert. “At Opel, the course is set for further growth.”
According to Küspert, the Opel Adam city car “exceeded” the brand’s expectations with some 21,000 sales, while the Mokka subcompact CUV — the only vehicle in its class from a German brand — had 20,000 buyers in Germany. The Adam and Mokka are Opel’s newest models, and both represent entries into new vehicle segments.
In addition, other Opel vehicles also contributed to the respectable sales figures. For instance, the Opel Meriva “occupies the first place in the segment”, according to Opel, and the Opel Corsa, Astra, and Insignia are each in second place in their respective segment (not including premium competitors).
The GM Authority Take
Now that Opel-Vauxhall is no longer impeded by Chevrolet in Europe, a circumstance that’s still being debated by some to this day, all the cards are stacked in its favor to become successful — in every sense of the word. Let’s hope that these are the first of a series of positive results.
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