Opel says it has 20,000 orders for Adam
Rival to Fiat 500 is crucial to GM subsidiary's turnaround
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FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- Opel has received more than 20,000 customer orders since October for the new Adam minicar, a crucial product for the money-losing brand. General Motors' German subsidiary said that many of the orders came in prior to the model's mid-January launch.
GM needs the Adam to be a success if it is to turn around its European business, which is expected to have had a full-year operating loss of $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion in 2012 after losing $747 million in 2011. GM aims to reach break-even in Europe by mid-decade.
Early interest in the Adam has been encouraging. Germany's main enthusiast magazine Auto Motor und Sport recently named it the second-best car of its class even before it even hit showrooms.
Aimed squarely at fans of the Fiat 500 and Mini Cooper, the small hatchback is being aimed at Internet-savvy car buyers looking for greater individualization.
Customers can pick from more than 61,000 different exterior designs and nearly 82,000 interior variations. The car also comes with an infotainment system that links up with an iPhone or Android smartphone.
"Whoever orders an Adam today, can be pretty much certain that he hasn't seen an identical one. Almost every Adam is one of a kind," Thomas Sedran, interim Opel CEO Opel, said in a statement.
GM has not published full-year results yet but it has said its operating loss in Europe should improve slightly in 2013.
Douglas A. Bolduc contributed to this story
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