February 2016 was the second month in a row of record-breaking sales performance for General Motors’ European subsidiary, Opel, in its home market of Germany.
February 2016 Performance
The brand’s passenger car sales were up by over 28 percent to 19,160 units compared to February 2015, thereby outgrowing the overall market by 12 percent. The results enable a market share increase of roughly 1 percent to 7.7 percent — the best February result since 2012.
January 2016 – February 2016 Performance
For the first two months of 2016, Opel sales grew by over 25 percent, or 7,200 units, thereby outgrowing the market’s 7.8 percent growth rate three-fold. This enabled market share to grow by over 1 percentage point to 7.6 percent during the period.
“After an already good January we managed to put in an even better performance in February. It shows just how attractive our current portfolio is. The new Opel Astra, the European ‘Car of the Year’ is exceptionally well received and registered growth of 84 percent in February,” said Jürgen Keller, Executive Director Sales, Marketing & Service Germany.
Astra, Corsa, Meriva, Mokka Lead The Way
The strong February performance was the result of high demand of several models, including the Astra, Corsa, Meriva, and Mokka.
2016 Opel Astra 5-door hatch
The new Opel Astra, which was recently crowned 2016 European Car of the Year, posted extremely strong sales performance, selling over 2,300 units in February — an increase of 84 percent compared to sales of the last-generation model in February 2015. Based on GM’s new D2XX platform, the latest generation of the five-door compact hatchback has already received roughly 130,000 orders across Europe. The sales performance of the nameplate should improve even further as Opel launches the Astra Sports Tourer (wagon) in April.
2016 Opel Corsa 5-door hatch
The Opel Corsa also recorded strong sales performance, accounting for a 29.5 percent sales increase to 4,486 units. The sales performance furnished the subcompact hatchback with a second place in its segment (Car-B and KBA small car).
Meanwhile, the Opel Meriva subcompact MPV posted a 22 percent increase in registrations — enabling it to keep its first place in the MPV B-segment.
2016 Opel Meriva MPV
Finally, the Opel Mokka subcompact crossover maintained its position as the best-selling vehicle in the SUV B-segment. The crossover’s sales performance will likely increase as Opel launches the refreshed 2017 Mokka X later this year.
Comments
Better looking and more desireable than their Buick cousins.
Currently, there is no Buick “cousin” to the models outlined above. The only exception is the new Verano, and that is a Chinese-only model (for now) that is identical to the Astra, with the exception of the grille.
The Opel Astra is actually the Chevrolet Cruze. There is a hatchback and a sedan for 2016. People forget that GM has Vauhall in the UK, Holden in Australia and Open in Germany. I agree, the Avista and Aveair designs would work well with Opel.
Maybe it’s just me.. but if you look at the 2017 Buick LeCrosse and concept cars like the Avenir and Avista; Opel may want to hire some of the Buick designers or simply begin building cars like the Avenir and Avista as Opel cars because some of the Opel models look old.
The Opel models that “look old” are actually old, as they are entering their last model years on the market before being replaced with new ones. From a design standpoint, Opel = Buick as far back as a few years ago… including the design teams.
Unfortunately, not even Buick builds cars like the Avenir or the Avista…
They are old offerings, sans Astra. Mark Adams has more than proved his design savy and you see many of his design cues throughout the Buick line up–a brand over which he has done control.
Opel should sell higher priced Avista/Aveair type models via a Genesis-like range topping sub brand provided both US/EU vehicles can be manufactured off of one cost effective line.
GM has the space for Cadillac and Buick-derived luxury cars.