Stellantis Europe boss is upbeat about Opel's future

Opel's future within the Stellantis group is secure, along with the brand's two German assembly plants, the group's Europe boss, Uwe Hochgeschurtz, said.

"I am happy with the brand. I am very happy with the product range," Hochgeschurtz told Automotive News Europe sister magazine Automobilwoche in an interview.

"Opel is and will remain -- like all other Stellantis brands -- an independent brand," Hochgeschurtz said. The brand "has great value," he added.

Opel's design center in Ruesselsheim is one of the most modern in the group. "The development capacities are high. We are in a position to develop many successful models such as the Corsa, Mokka or Astra," Hochgeschurtz said.

Opel's two factories in Germany, in Ruesselsheim and Eisenach, have a steady workload, meaning their futures are secure, he said.

The Ruesselsheim plant, near Frankfurt, has been strengthened after production of the Opel/Vauxhall Astra and DS 4 models was added, Hochgeschurtz said.

He did not say where the successor to the Insignia will be produced. The midsize car was built in Ruesselsheim until it was discontinued last year.

"There will be a successor to the Insignia with similar attributes. We have not yet announced the production location. The old Insignia was a vehicle from a different era, still based on a platform for internal combustion engines only," Hochgeschurtz said.

Eisensach has good capacity utilization even though it only builds one model, the Grandland SUV, he said.  

The Grandland "is a very successful vehicle with a very high order backlog," Hochgeschurtz said.

Opel, along other Stellantis brands, lost market share last year as microchip shortages and logistics bottlenecks squeezed deliveries to dealerships.

Sales of Opel and Vauxhall cars fell 12 percent to 428,145 in 2022 in the EU, EFTA and UK countries, according to industry association ACEA. Its market share dropped to 3.8 percent from 4.1 percent.  

Hochgeschurtz said the drop in sales was because of a lack of transportation capacity.  

"We had the customers. We had the finished cars, but they did not get there," he said. "The logistics problems hit the volume manufacturers harder than others. There is only limited transport capacity due to a lack of truck drivers."  

Opel has offered dealers the option of picking up the cars themselves from intermediate storage facilities.

Hochgeschurtz said Opel is now sustainably profitable after making losses for almost two decades until 2017. Those losses came under its previous owner, General Motors.  

"The Corsa is the most successful small car in Germany. The brand-new Astra is doing extremely well. The Mokka is also very much in demand," he said.

Hochgeschurtz said Opel will concentrate on selling to markets in Europe in the future, and an expansion into China pursued under former Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller is off the table.

"China is not an issue for Opel at the moment. We do sell some vehicles in Latin America and will expand our exports wherever it makes sense to do so. Turkey and North Africa are also good markets for Opel. But the core of the brand is Europe, including Vauxhall in the UK," he said.

Hochgeschurtz, an ex-Renault, Volkswagen and Ford executive, succeeded Lohscheller as Opel CEO in 2021 and was promoted to chief operating officer for Europe at Opel parent Stellantis last year.