General Motors’ Germany subsidiary, Opel and sister brand Vauxhall, reported their best February sales performance and market share in five years. February 2016 registrations came in at roughly 80,300 vehicles, up roughly 15 percent or 10,500 units, compared to February 2015. The growth translates to an increase in market share of 0.3 percentage points to 5.6 percent, significantly outgrowing the market, which should help the division claw its way to profitability.
“We grew in 17 markets thanks to our young and attractive portfolio. The new Astra was key for our success. The Astra Sports Tourer, available at dealers from April, and the new Mokka X will continue to drive our business after a strong start into the year,” said Peter Christian Küspert, Vice President Sales & Aftersales Opel Group.
2016 Opel Corsa 3-door hatchback
Opel credits the new Astra for the strong performance in February. Having made its debut across most European markets in November, the new compact five-door hatchback was recently crowned European “Car of the Year 2016”. In February, it accounted for over 18,000 sales, an increase of roughly 33 percent year-over-year. Opel has also received over 130,000 orders for the model. The Opel Corsa was also key to automaker’s success, as the subcompact vehicle range saw sales grow 12 percent to 20,400 units in February.
New Opel vehicle registrations were up in 17 European markets in February, including:
- Germany up 27 percent
- Italy up 24 percent
- France up 23 percent
- Spain up 23 percent
Opel also increased its market share in 16 other European markets.
Comments
The new Astra like very much here in Spain, specially for 4 reasons:
AGR front seats system
More light body
Matrix lights
And reasonable price and good equipment
GM will already know the trick to sell well the Opel brand in Europe
If Opel could add Envision plus whatever medium sized SUV that GM has planned, sales would surge far higher. These vehicles could be imported from NA to avoid additional tooling costs. An Astra SUV variant, like Adam Rocks, it’s needed, too.
GM will not truly succeed until it gains 10 percent EU market share.