Opel’s issues have been well documented here at GM Authority, but we always maintain a “half-full” perspective because we recognize the efforts made in repositioning the brand for the future, plus we’ve caught a whiff of their future direction, which we like. So when the fruits of Opel’s efforts are quantifiable, we smile.
Opel is reporting considerably increased sales across Europe from January-May 2014. New vehicle registrations increased by 3.6 percent to 454,807 versus the same time a year ago. This represents a 5.77 percent market share in Europe (gains in 10 countries), with great strides made in Germany. In May alone, Opel sold 95,143 vehicles for a market share of 5.96 percent with particular success in Hungary, where it was market leader in the overall vehicle market.
“Our models are extremely popular, and we benefit from this in many European markets that are once again growing. This is also reflected in the order books. We have already received more than 240,000 orders for the Mokka across Europe, over 90,000 for our lifestyle mini ADAM, and more than 100,000 for our flagship, the new Insignia,” says Board Member for Sales, Peter Christian Küspert.
General Motors says this success “has a broad, multi-market base.” The compact Mokka SUV was number one in the SUV segment for the five months, and the the Corsa also ranked number one in the small car segment during that time. While not number one in its segment, the second-place Zafira performed well among high-capacity vans.
Meanwhile, over in the United Kingdom, sister make Vauxhall defended its rank as the number two brand for the first five months of 2014, with the Insignia and Zafira models topping their respective segments. In May, the Mokka also took the top spot in its segment.
Comments
I was just in Ireland and Wales. I saw several Mokkas. The Insignia was everywhere and in fact seemed more numerous by far than any other mid size car. Nice to see it doing well over there since the Regal is a rare sight over here. Many Insignias seemed to be the CDTi, which I assume is a diesel?
I have the Cruze diesel… Couldn’t be happier.
Opel had a well designed, high quality line up. Americans put down GM & Ford, but both brands produce higher quality vehicles than VW, Renault and PSA. GM technology surpasses Benz and BMW.
Mark Adams had a great eye for design and beautiful cars are changing the fortunes of Opel.
Next, Chevy needs him if they hope to ever leaf in global volume again.