Opel readies product offensive with 7 new models

RUESSELSHEIM, Germany – Opel/Vauxhall will launch its biggest product offensive to date with seven new or replacement models next year including a successor to its Meriva minivan that will be called the Crossland X.

"In terms of product launches, 2017 will be the most active year in the history of our company," Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann told reporters at a preview event here for the models.

The seven models, which will all go on sale next year, are:

• The Crossland X small crossover. The Meriva replacement will join the Opel Mokka X SUV in the subcompact segment. Neumann said the Crossland X is aimed at customers who want an SUV-like vehicle but with a less masculine design and more interior space and practicality. The Crossland X has design elements similar to Opel's Adam "lifestyle" minicar, especially at the C-pillar. It shares its platform with the next Peugeot 2008 and Citroen C3 Picasso. Opel will build it’s the Crossland X and PSA's versions in Zaragoza, Spain.
• A compact crossover that will be sold alongside the Zafira minivan. Opel has not disclosed the name yet but it will include the suffix X. The crossover will be unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show in September. It is a sister model to the Peugeot 3008 and will be built by PSA in its Sochaux, France. Neumann said the Zafira minivan will remain on sale to offer buyers a seven-seat vehicle.
• Three variants of the Insignia midsize car. For the second generation of its biggest model Opel is calling the five-door version the Insignia Grand Sport to align the name with the Insignia Sports Tourer station wagon and the Country Tourer all-wheel-drive version. Both these will be renewed. The Grand Sport and Sports Tourer will debut at the Geneva auto show in March and the Country Tourer will arrive in the second half with Opel's latest awd technology.
• The Ampera-e battery powered car, which will arrive in European dealerships in May/June. Opel has not released prices for the EV, which is a sister model of the Chevrolet Bolt. The Ampera-e is expected to cost more than 35,000 euros, partly because it has a large 60 kWh lithium ion battery pack that gives it a range of more than 500 km measured in the New European Driving Cycle.
• A new variant of Opel's Vivaro large van.

Neumann said CUVs – crossover utility vehicles – are the "clear trend" in the compact and subcompact segments while traditional minivans are losing share. Opel will use the X letter in the names of all of its new SUVs and crossovers to distinguish them from conventional body styles. "We wanted the name to convey a more adventurous, sportier mind set," Neumann said.

Opel expects to benefit from its new crossovers even as the General Motors unit faces headwinds in reaching its target of returning to profitability after years of losses.

Opel/Vauxhall's European vehicle sales rose by 5.2 percent to 895,000 in the first nine months, helped by the new-generation Astra compact car.

Announcing a $142 million third-quarter loss in Europe on Oct. 25, GM Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens said the U.S. automaker was now unlikely to meet its goal of breaking even in Europe this year, because of the pound's collapse after the UK's vote in June to leave the European Union.