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Источник

This article is about the German automobile manufacturer. For other uses, see Opel (disambiguation).

Opel Automobile GmbH

Opel Logo 2021.svg
Type Subsidiary
Industry Automotive
Founded 21 January 1862; 161 years ago[1]
Founder Adam Opel
Headquarters

Rüsselsheim am Main, Hesse

,

Germany

Number of locations

 10 manufacturing facilities

Area served

 Europe (Vauxhall Motors in the UK), Latin America, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific[2]: . 40, 41 
Products Automobiles
Electric vehicles
Commercial vehicle

Production output

 Increase 1.2 million vehicles (2016)[3]
Revenue Increase $18.7 billion (2016)[4]

Number of employees

 37,000 (2017)[3]
Parent General Motors (1929–2017)
PSA Group (2017–2021)[5]
Stellantis (2021–present)[1]
Divisions Opel Performance Center[6]
Subsidiaries
  • Opel Eisenach
  • Vauxhall Motors
  • Opel Special Vehicles[7]: Exhibit 21 
Website opel.com

Opel Automobile GmbH (German pronunciation: [ˈoːpl̩]), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Group, a predecessor of Stellantis, from 2017 until 2021. Opel vehicles are sold in the United Kingdom as Vauxhall. Some Opel vehicles were badge-engineered in Australia under the Holden brand until 2020 and in North America and China under the Buick, Saturn, and Cadillac brands.

Opel traces its roots to a sewing machine manufacturer founded by Adam Opel in 1862 in Rüsselsheim am Main. The company began manufacturing bicycles in 1886 and produced its first automobile in 1899. With the Opel RAK program, the world’s first rocket program, under the leadership of Fritz von Opel, the company played an important role in the history of aviation and spaceflight: Various land speed records were achieved, and the world’s first rocket-powered flights were performed in 1928 and 1929. After listing on the stock market in 1929, General Motors took a majority stake in Opel and then full control in 1931, making the automaker a wholly owned subsidiary, establishing an American ownership of the German automaker for nearly 90 years.[1]

In March 2017, PSA agreed to acquire Opel, the English twin sister brand Vauxhall and the European auto lending business from General Motors for €2 billion ($2.3 billion), making the French automaker the second biggest in Europe, after Volkswagen.[8]

Opel is still headquartered in Rüsselsheim am Main. The company designs, engineers, manufactures and distributes Opel-branded passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles, and vehicle parts; together with its English sister marque Vauxhall, they are present in over 60 countries around the world.[9]

History[edit]

Advertisement for the Opel Perfecta sewing machines (1901)

1862–1898[edit]

The company was founded in Rüsselsheim, Hesse, Germany, on 21 January 1862, by Adam Opel. In the beginning, Opel produced sewing machines. Opel[10] launched a new product in 1886: he began to sell high-wheel bicycles, also known as penny-farthings. Opel’s two sons participated in high-wheel bicycle races, thus promoting this means of transportation. In 1888, production was relocated from a cowshed to a more spacious building in Rüsselsheim. The production of high-wheel bicycles soon exceeded the production of sewing machines.[11] At the time of Opel’s death in 1895, he was the leader in both markets.

1898–1920[edit]

The first cars were designed in 1898 after Opel’s widow Sophie and their two eldest sons entered into a partnership with Friedrich Lutzmann, a locksmith at the court in Dessau in Saxony-Anhalt, who had been working on automobile designs for some time.[12][13] The first Opel production Patent Motor Car was built in Rüsselsheim early 1899, although these cars were not very successful (A total of 65 motor cars were delivered: [15] 11 in 1899, 24 copies in 1900 and 30 in 1901) and the partnership was dissolved after two years, following which Opel signed a licensing agreement in 1901 with the French Automobiles Darracq France to manufacture vehicles under the brand name Opel Darracq. These cars consisted of Opel bodies mounted on Darracq chassis, powered by two-cylinder engines.

The company first showed cars of its own design at the 1902 Hamburg Motor Show, and started manufacturing them in 1906, with Opel Darracq production being discontinued in 1907.[14][15]

In 1909, the Opel 4/8 PS model, known as the Doktorwagen («Doctor’s Car») was produced. Its reliability and robustness were appreciated by physicians, who drove long distances to see their patients back when hard-surfaced roads were still rare. The Doktorwagen sold for only 3,950 marks, about half as much as the luxury models of its day.

In 1911, the company’s factory was virtually destroyed by fire and a new one was built with more up-to-date machinery.

Opels cars were initially tested on public roads which then led to complaints about noise and damage to the roads. Under public pressure, Opel began construction of a test oval in 1917. The track was completed in 1919 but not opened to the public until 24 October 1920 under the official name of Opel-Rennbahn, or Opel Race Track in English.[16]

1920–1939[edit]

Opel RAK.1 – world’s first public flight of a manned rocket-powered plane on 30 September 1929

In the early 1920s, Opel became the first German car manufacturer to incorporate a mass-production assembly line in the building of their automobiles. In 1924, they used their assembly line to produce a new open two-seater called the Laubfrosch (Tree frog). The Laubfrosch was finished exclusively in green lacquer. The car sold for an expensive 3,900 marks (expensive considering the less expensive manufacturing process), but by the 1930s, this type of vehicle would cost a mere 1,930 marks – due in part to the assembly line, but also due to the skyrocketing demand for cars. Adam Opel led the way for motorised transportation to become not just a means for the rich, but also a reliable way for people of all classes to travel.

Opel had a 37.5% market share in Germany and was also the country’s largest automobile exporter in 1928. The «Regent» – Opel’s first eight-cylinder car – was offered. The RAK 1 and RAK 2 rocket-propelled cars made sensational record-breaking runs.

Opel as a company and its co-owner Fritz von Opel, grandson of Adam Opel, were instrumental in popularizing rockets as means of propulsion for vehicles and have an important place in the history of spaceflight and rocket technology. In the 1920s, Fritz von Opel initiated together with Max Valier, co-founder of the «Verein für Raumschiffahrt», the world’s first rocket program, Opel-RAK, leading to speed records for automobiles, rail vehicles and the first manned rocket-powered flight in September 1929.[17] Months earlier in 1928, one of his rocket-powered prototypes, the Opel RAK2, piloted by von Opel himself at the AVUS speedway in Berlin, reached a record speed of 238 km/h (148 mph) in front of 3,000 spectators and world media representatives, including Fritz Lang, director of Metropolis and Woman in the Moon, world boxing champion Max Schmeling, and many other sports and show business celebrities. A world speed record for rail vehicles was reached with RAK3 at a top speed of 256 km/h (159 mph).[18] After these successes, von Opel piloted the world’s first public rocket-powered flight using Opel RAK.1, a rocket plane designed by Julius Hatry.[19] World media reported these events, including Universal Newsreel in the US, causing «Raketen-Rummel» or «Rocket Rumble» immense global public excitement, particularly in Germany, where, among others, Wernher von Braun was highly influenced.[20]

Friedrich Sander, Opel RAK technician August Becker and Opel employee Karl Treber (from right to left) in front of liquid-fuel rocket-plane prototype while test operation at Opel Rennbahn in Rüsselsheim

Opel RAK became enthralled with liquid propulsion, building and testing them in the late 1920s in Rüsselsheim. According to Max Valier’s account, Opel RAK rocket designer, Friedrich Wilhelm Sander launched two liquid-fuel rockets at Opel Rennbahn in Rüsselsheim on 10 and 12 April 1929. These Opel RAK rockets have been the first European, and after Goddard the world’s second, liquid-fuel rockets in history. In his book Raketenfahrt Valier describes the size of the rockets as of 21 cm (8.3 in) in diameter and with a length of 74 cm (29 in), weighing 7 kg (15 lb) empty and 16 kg (35 lb) with fuel. The maximum thrust was 45 to 50 kp, with a total burning time of 132 seconds. These properties indicate a gas pressure pumping. The first missile rose so quickly that Sander lost sight of it. Two days later, a second unit was ready to go, Sander tied a 4,000-meter (13,000 ft)-long rope to the rocket. After 2,000 m (6,600 ft) of rope had been unwound, the line broke and this rocket also disappeared in the area, probably near the Opel proving ground and racetrack in Rüsselsheim, the «Rennbahn». Sander and Opel were also working for a novel liquid-propellant rocket engine for an anticipated flight across the English Channel. By May 1929, the engine produced a thrust of 200 kg (440 lb.) «for longer than fifteen minutes and in July 1929, the Opel RAK collaborators were able to attain powered phases of more than thirty minutes for thrusts of 300 kg (660-lb.) at Opel’s works in Rüsselsheim,» again according to Max Valier’s account.

The Great Depression led to an end of the Opel-RAK program, but Max Valier continued the efforts. After switching from solid-fuel to liquid-fuel rockets, he died while testing and is considered the first fatality of the dawning space age. Sander’s technology was confiscated by German military in 1935, he was forced to sell his company, and was imprisoned for alleged treason. He died in 1938.

In March 1929, General Motors (GM), impressed by Opel’s modern production facilities, bought 80% of the company. The Opel family gained $33.3 million from the transaction. Subsequently, during 1935, a second factory was built at Brandenburg for the production of «Blitz» light trucks. In 1929 Opel licensed design of the radical Neander motorcycle, and produced it as the Opel Motoclub in 1929 and 1930, using Küchen, J.A.P., and Motosacoche engines. Fritz von Opel famously attached solid-fuel rockets to his Motoclub in a publicity stunt, riding the rocket-boosted motorcycle at the Avus racetrack.[21]

In 1931 – after acquiring the rest of the shares – General Motors took over the full ownership of Adam Opel AG, making the company a wholly owned subsidiary, and later, in 1935, Opel became the first German car manufacturer to produce over 100,000 vehicles a year. This was based on the popular Opel P4 model. The selling price was a mere 1,650 marks and the car had a 23 PS (17 kW) 1.1 L four-cylinder engine and a top speed of 85 km/h (53 mph).

Opel also produced the first mass-production vehicle in Germany with a self-supporting («unibody») all-steel body, closely following the 1934 Citroën Traction Avant. This was one of the most important innovations in automotive history.[22] They called the car, launched in 1935, the Olympia. With its small weight and aerodynamics came an improvement in both performance and fuel consumption. Opel received a patent on this technology.[citation needed]

The 1930s was a decade of growth, and by 1937, with 130,267 cars produced, Opel’s Rüsselsheim plant was Europe’s top car plant in terms of output, while ranking seventh worldwide.[23]

1938 saw the presentation of the highly successful Kapitän. With a 2.5 L six-cylinder engine, all-steel body, front independent suspension, hydraulic shock absorbers, hot-water heating (with electric blower), and central speedometer. 25,374 Kapitäns left the factory before the intensification of World War II brought automotive manufacturing to a temporary stop in the autumn of 1940, by order of the government.

Military Opel Blitz in Italy (1944)

World War II[edit]

Opel automobile production ended in October 1940, after the company’s American leadership had rejected an «invitation» to switch to munitions manufacture a few months earlier.[24] In 1942 Opel switched to wartime production, making aircraft parts and tanks. They kept manufacturing trucks at the Brandenburg plant, where the 3.6-liter Opel Blitz truck had been built since 1938. These 3 short tons (2.7 t) trucks were also built under license by Daimler-Benz in Mannheim.[24]

1945–1970[edit]

An administration building of Opel Rüsselsheim

After the end of the war, with the Brandenburg plant dismantled and transported to the Soviet Union, and 47% of the buildings in Rüsselsheim destroyed,[25] former Opel employees began to rebuild the Rüsselsheim plant. The first postwar Opel Blitz truck was completed on 15 July 1946 in the presence of United States Army General Geoffrey Keyes and other local leaders and press reporters.[25] Opel’s Rüsselsheim plant also made Frigidaire refrigerators in the early post-war years.[26]

  • Opel product of the 1940s: Frigidaire refrigerator

    Opel product of the 1940s: Frigidaire refrigerator

  • 1952 Opel Kapitän

    1952 Opel Kapitän

  • Opel Rekord P1 (1957–1960)

1970–2017[edit]

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Vauxhall and Opel ranges were rationalised into one consistent range across Europe.

The 1973 version of the Opel Kadett was later rebadged in hatchback, saloon and estate form as the Vauxhall Chevette for the UK market, with German factories producing the opel versions. The Opel Ascona of this era was sold on the UK market (and produced in both British and continental factories) as the Vauxhall Cavalier. Both of these cars had mild styling changes, as did the flagship Opel Rekord and Vauxhall Carlton saloon and estate ranges which went on sale towards the end of the 1970s.

By the 1970s, Opel had emerged as the stronger of GM’s two European brands; Vauxhall was the third-best selling brand in Great Britain after the British Motor Corporation (later British Leyland) but made only a modest impact elsewhere. The two companies were direct competitors outside of each other’s respective home markets, but mirroring US automaker Ford’s decision to merge its British and German subsidiaries in the late 1960s, GM followed the same precedent. Opel and Vauxhall had loosely collaborated before, but serious efforts to merge the two companies’ operations and product families into one did not start until the 1970s – which had Vauxhall’s complete product line replaced by vehicles built on Opel-based platforms – the only exception to the rule being the Bedford CF panel van, the only solely Vauxhall design which was marketed as an Opel on the Continent. By the turn of the 1980s, the two brands were in effect, one and the same.

Opel’s first front-wheel drive car — the new version of the Kadett — entered production in 1979, initially built in Germany and Belgium. It was sold in the UK alongside the stronger selling Vauxhall version — the Astra — which also entered UK production in 1981.

During the 1970s, Opel expressed interest in building an additional production facility in Spain, and eventually settled on a location near Zaragoza, with the intention of building a new supermini for the 1980s there. The factory opened in 1982, and its first product was the Opel Corsa (imported to the UK as the Vauxhall Nova from 1983).

The Ascona switched to front-wheel drive for an all-new General Motors J-Car global model format in 1981, with the Cavalier nameplate continuing for the UK market. The Kadett was revamped again in 1984, and became the company’s first winner of the European Car of the Year accolade. The Rekord’s successor, the Opel Omega (still Vauxhall Carlton in the UK), achieved the same success two years later.

The long-running Ascona nameplate was discontinued in 1988, with its replacement being sold as the Vectra, although the UK market version was still sold as the Vauxhall Cavalier. The Opel Manta coupe was also discontinued in 1988, with its Vectra-based successor the Calibra being launched the following year. Soon afterwards, Opel launched a high performance version of the Omega — the Lotus Omega (Lotus Carlton in the UK) — which featured Lotus-tuned suspension and had a top speed of 175 mph.

Opel Rekord E, mk.2 (1982–1986)

Opel’s first turbocharged car was the Opel Rekord 2.3 TD, first shown at Geneva in March 1984.[27]

In the 1990s, Opel was considered to be GM’s cash cow, with profit margins similar to that of Toyota. Opel’s profit helped to offset GM’s losses in North America and to fund GM’s expansion into Asia.[28] 1999 was the last time when Opel was profitable for the full year for almost 20 years.[29]

The first major Opel launch of the 1990s was the 1991 Astra, which spelled the end for the Kadett nameplate that had debuted more than 50 years earlier. The company also turned to GM’s Japanese division Isuzu for its first SUV, the Frontera, which was also launched in 1991 but produced in Europe despite its Japanese origins. The larger Monterey joined the company’s SUV line-up in 1994, but had been dropped from the UK and continental markets by 2000 due to disappointing sales.

At the end of 1992, the company unveiled a completely new Corsa, which like the original model was produced at the Zaragoza plant, but this time carried the Corsa nameplate on the UK market as a Vauxhall.

A second generation Omega was launched in early 1994 and remained in production for a decade, but when production finished there was no direct successor due to declining sales of executive saloon models from mainstream brands. A Corsa-based coupe, the Tigra, was also launched around this time, and lasted in production for six years.

The second generation Opel Vectra was launched in 1995, with the Vectra nameplate now extending to the Vauxhall version in the UK.

The first Opel MPV, the Sintra, was launched in Europe in 1996, imported from the USA where it was sold as a Pontiac, but discontinued after three years due to disappointing sales. The Vauxhall-badged UK market version was also slated in motoring surveys for its dismal build quality and reliability.

1997 saw the demise of the Calibra coupe after an eight-year production, with no immediate replacement.

The Opel Astra hatchbacks, saloons and estate were completely revamped for 1998, and within two years had also spawned coupe and cabriolet versions, as well as a compact MPV, the Zafira.

In 1999, Opel unveiled its first sports car, the Speedster (Vauxhall VX220 in the UK). However, it was not a success, and was axed in 2005. The company moved into the city car market in early 2000 with the launch of the Agila.

The third generation Opel Corsa was launched in 2000, followed by a new version of the Vectra in 2002 and the Astra in 2004.

Three generations of Vectra gave way to the Insignia in 2008, with the new model becoming the company’s first European Car of the Year award winner for 22 years.

Following the 2008 global financial crisis, and the Chapter 11 reorganization of GM, on 10 September 2009, GM agreed to sell a 55% stake in Opel to a consortium including Magna group and Sberbank — with the approval of the German government. The deal was later called off.[30]

With ongoing restructuring plans, Opel announced the closure of its Antwerp plant in Belgium by the end of 2010.[31]

In 2010, Opel announced that it would invest around €11 billion in the next five years.[32] €1 billion of that was designated solely for the development of innovative and fuel-saving engines and transmissions.[33]

On 29 February 2012, Opel announced the creation of a major alliance with PSA Peugeot Citroen resulting in GM taking a 7% share of PSA, becoming PSA’s second-largest shareholder after the Peugeot family. The alliance was intended to enable $2 billion per year of cost savings through platform sharing, common purchasing, and other economies of scale.[34] In December 2013, GM sold its 7% interest in PSA for £250 million, after plans of cost savings were not as successful.[35] Opel was said to be among Europe’s most aggressive discounters in mass-market.[36] GM reported a 2016 loss of US$257 million from its European operations.[35] It is reported that GM has lost about US$20 billion in Europe since 1999.[37]

Opel’s plant in Bochum closed in December 2014, after 52 years of activity, due to overcapacity.[38]

Opel withdrew from China, where it had a network of 22 dealers, in early 2015[39] after General Motors decided to withdraw its Chevrolet brand from Europe starting in 2016.[40]

2017–present[edit]

In March 2017, the PSA Group agreed to buy Opel, its English twin sister brand Vauxhall and their European auto lending business from General Motors for US$2.2 billion.[41][42] In return, General Motors will pay PSA US$3.2 billion for future European pension obligations and keep managing US$9.8 billion worth of plans for existing retirees. Furthermore, GM is responsible for paying about US$400 million annually for 15 years to fund the existing Great Britain and Germany pension plans.[41]

In June 2017, Michael Lohscheller, Opel’s chief financial officer replaced Karl-Thomas Neumann as CEO.[43] The acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall was completed in August 2017.[5]

In the 2018 financial year, Opel achieved an operating income of €859 million. It was the first positive income since 1999.[44][45]

On 16 January 2021, Opel was sold on to Stellantis following the merger of its Peugeot parent company PSA Group with Italian-American group Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

In September 2021, Stellantis appoints Uwe Hochgeschurtz in Opel’s management[46] to replace Michael Lohscheller who left to Vinfast.[47]

Company[edit]

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2018)

The Opel Vectra C, in production from 2002 to 2008

Opel operates 10 vehicle, powertrain, and component plants and four development and test centres in six countries, and employs around 30,000 people in Europe. The brand sells vehicles in more than 60 markets worldwide. Other plants are in Eisenach and Kaiserslautern, Germany; Szentgotthárd, Hungary; Figueruelas, Spain; Gliwice, and Tychy, Poland; Aspern, Austria; Ellesmere Port, and Luton, United Kingdom.[48] The Dudenhofen Test Center is located near the company’s headquarters and is responsible for all technical testing and vehicle validations.

Around 6,250 people are responsible for the engineering and design of Opel/Vauxhall vehicles at the International Technical Development Center and European Design Center in Rüsselsheim.[49] All in all, Opel plays an important role in Stellantis’ global R&D footprint.

Leadership[edit]

Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann,
CEO of the Opel Group from March 2013 to June 2017

Chairmen/CEOs of Adam Opel AG/GmbH since 1948

Name From To
Edward W. Zdunek (Gaston de Wolff, acting chairman) November 1948 February 1961
Nelson J. Stork February 1961 March 1966
L. Ralph Mason March 1966 1970
Alexander Cunningham 1970 January 1974
John P. McCormack February 1974 February 1976
James F. Waters March 1976 August 1980
Robert C. Stempel September 1980 February 1982
Ferdinand Beickler February 1982 February 1986
Horst W. Herke February 1986 March 1989
Louis Hughes April 1989 June 1992
David Herman July 1992 June 1998
Gary Cowger June 1998 October 1998
Robert Hendry October 1998 March 2001
Carl-Peter Forster April 2001 June 2004
Hans Demant June 2004 January 2010
Nick Reilly January 2010 March 2011
Karl-Friedrich Stracke[50] April 2011 July 2012
Thomas Sedran (interim chairman)[51] July 2012 February 2013
Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann[52] March 2013 June 2017
Michael Lohscheller June 2017 September 2021
Uwe Hochgeschurtz September 2021 May 2022
Florian Huettl Since June 2022

Plants[edit]

As of 2021 Opel Group GmbH is the contracted original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of Opel/Vauxhall. Adam Opel AG is the main supplier (tier 1) for the OEM, all subsidiaries are tier 2 suppliers.

Production site Image Production since Products Comments Employees
Rüsselsheim am Main, Germany Opel Rüsselsheim Factory.jpg 1898
  • Insignia
  • Astra
  • International Technical Development Center (ITDC)
  • Headquarters of Opel Automobile GmbH
  • Dudenhofen Test Center
 12.990
Kaiserslautern, Germany 1966
  • Components
  • Engines
 2.150
Kikinda, Serbia (*Ex-Yugoslavia) 1977-1992
  • Car parts
  • Opel Kadett, Opel Omega, Opel Senator (also known as Opel Kikinda), Opel Vectra
  • IDA-Opel (Industry for car parts Opel)
 ?
Opel Eisenach GmbH
Eisenach, Germany 		ESA Opelwerk1.jpg 1990
  • Opel Grandland[53]
 1300 Employees for 3 Months from 1 October 2021 until 31 December 2021 at short-time work at home, due factory close because chips issue.[54] 1.420
Figueruelas, near Zaragoza, Spain 1982
  • Corsa E (three-, four-, and five-door)
  • Meriva B
  • Mokka[55]
  • Corsa F
  • Opel Crossland (2017–present)
 5.120
Gliwice, Poland Opel Gliwice.JPG 1998
  • Opel Astra K (5-door)
 2.920
Opel Manufacturing Poland[56]
Tychy, Poland 		Katowicka Specjalna Strefa Ekonomiczna (Podstrefa Tyska) - Isuzu Motors Polska 2.jpg 1996
  • Diesel engines
 480
Opel Szentgotthárd
Szentgotthárd, Hungary 		1990
  • Engines
  • Transmissions
 810
Vauxhall Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port, United Kingdom 		Vauxhall's, Ellesmere Port - geograph.org.uk - 218503.jpg 1962
  • Astra K Sports Tourer (estate/wagon)
 1.630
IBC Vehicles Ltd
Luton, Great Britain 		GM building - geograph.org.uk - 560801.jpg 1907
  • Vivaro B
  • headquarters of Vauxhall
 1.140
GM Auto LLC
Saint Petersburg, Russia 		2008
  • Astra J (five-door, saloon/sedan)
 880

Plant controlled as first-tier subsidiary of General Motors Europe Limited, second-tier subsidiary of GM CME Holdings CV and third-tier subsidiary of General Motors Corporation (GMC):[48]

Production
site 		Image Production since Products Comments Employees
Opel Wien GmbH[48]
Aspern, Austria 		Aspern (Wien) - Opel-Werk, Verwaltungsgebäude (2).JPG 1982
  • Family 0 engines
  • Transmissions
 Opel Wien in Austria also well known as its first name General Motors Austria[57] 1.480

Marketing[edit]

Logo[edit]

1862: Adam Opel’s initials

The first Opel logo contained the letters «A» and «O» – the initials of the company’s founder, Adam Opel. The A was in bronze, the O kept in red.

In 1866, Opel expanded and started to produce bicycles. Around 1890, the logo was completely redesigned. The new logo also contained the words «Victoria Blitz» (referring to Lady Victory; they were certain of the triumph of their bicycles). The word «Blitz» (English: lightning) first appeared back then, but without a depiction.

Another redesign was commissioned in 1909. The new logo was much more spirited and contained only the company name Opel. It was placed on the motorcycles that they had started to produce in 1902, and on the first cars which were produced in 1909.

In 1910, the logo was the shape of an eye, and it was surrounded by laurels, with the text «Opel» in the centre.

From the mid-1930s to the 1960s, passenger cars carried a ring which was crossed by some kind of a flying thing pointing to the left, which in some form could be interpreted as a zeppelin, the same flying object being used also as a forward-pointing hood ornament. In some versions, it looked like an arrow; in others, like an aeroplane or a bird.

Besides the hood ornament flying through the ring, Opel also used a coat of arms in various forms, which mostly had a combination of white and yellow colours in it, a shade of yellow which is typical for Opel until today. One was oval, half white and half yellow. The Opel writing was black and in the middle of the oval symbol.

The origin of the lightning in the Opel logo lies in the truck Opel Blitz (German Blitz = English «lightning»), which had been a commercial success, widely used also within the Wehrmacht, Nazi Germany’s military. Originally, the logo for this truck consisted of two stripes arranged loosely like a lightning symbol with the words «Opel» and «Blitz» in them, in later, 1950s models simplified to the horizontal form of lightning which appears in the current Opel logo. The jag in the lightning always follows the original from the «Opel Blitz» text stripes, in the form of a horizontally stretched letter «Z».

By the end of the 1960s, the two forms merged, and the horizontal lightning replaced the flying thing in the ring, giving way to the basic design which is used since then with variations. Through all its variations, this logo is simple and unique, and both easily recognisable and reproducible with just two strokes of a pen.

In the 1964 version, the lightning with a ring was used in a yellow rectangle, with the Opel writing below. The whole logo was again delimited by a black rectangle. The basic form and proportions of the Blitz logo have remained unchanged since the 1970 version, which made the lightning tails shorter so that the logo could fit proportionately within a yellow square, meaning it could be displayed next to the ‘blue square’ General Motors logo. In the mid-1970s, the Vauxhall «Griffin» logo was, in turn, resized and displayed within a corresponding red square, so that all three logos could be displayed together, thus signifying the unified GM Europe.

  • Evolution of hood ornament flying through ring

  • Hood ornament of the Opel Olympia (1935–37)

    Hood ornament of the Opel Olympia (1935–37)

  • 1937: Hood ornament flying through the ring

    Hood ornament flying through the ring (1937)

  • Hood ornament of a 1937 Opel car, typical for many other Opels at the time

    Hood ornament of a 1937 Opel car, typical for many other Opels at the time

  • Logo on spare wheel cover of a 1938 Kapitän

    Logo on spare wheel cover of a 1938 Kapitän

  • Logo on the rear of a 1951 Kapitän

    Logo on the rear of a 1951 Kapitän

  • 1959 Opel Kapitän

    1959 Opel Kapitän

  • The lightning of the Opel Blitz replacing the hood ornament

  • early 1950s Opel Blitz with words in horizontal lightning

    Early 1950s Opel Blitz with words in horizontal lightning

  • 1961 Opel Blitz with stylised horizontal lightning

    1961 Opel Blitz with stylised horizontal lightning

  • Basic form of current logo on a 1968 Opel Blitz

    Basic form of current logo on a 1968 Opel Blitz

  • Lightning in ring on a 1969 Opel Kapitän

    Lightning in ring on a 1969 Opel Kapitän

  • The 1970-1987 version, the "Opel" script was dropped in 1981.

    The 1970-1987 version, the «Opel» script, was dropped in 1981.

  • Opel logo (2002–07)

    Opel logo (2002–07)

  • Opel logo (2009-2017)

    Opel logo (2009-2017)

  • 2017-2021: Opel logo

    Opel logo (2017–21)

  • Since 2020: Opel logo

    Opel logo (since 2020)

Clubs[edit]

The SC Opel Rüsselsheim is a football club with over 450 members. RV 1888 Opel Rüsselsheim is a cycling club.

Slogans[edit]

Opel’s corporate tagline as of June 2017 is The Future Is Everyone’s (German: Die Zukunft gehört allen). The list of Opel’s slogans is shown below:

  • Fresh thinking – better cars. (2002–2007)
  • Discover Opel (2007–2009)
  • Wir Leben Autos. (2009–2017)
  • The Future is Everyone’s (2017-present)

Partnerships[edit]

Opel currently has partnerships with association football clubs such as Bundesliga clubs Borussia Dortmund and 1. FSV Mainz 05.
Opel cooperates with French oil&gas company TotalEnergies on plans for a battery cell factory.[58] From 1994 until 2006, Opel has been partnership with Milan and previously with Fiorentina from 1983 until 1986 in Italy, from 1995 until 2002 with Paris Saint-Germain in France, from 1989 until 2002 with Bayern Munchen in Germany and from 2013 until 2017 with Feyenoord Rotterdam in Netherlands.

World presence[edit]

[icon]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2018)

The Opel brand is present in most of Europe, in parts of North Africa, in South Africa, the Middle East (EMEA), in Chile and in Singapore.[59] Their models have been rebadged and sold in other countries and continents, such as Vauxhall in Great Britain, Chevrolet in Latin America, Holden in Australia and New Zealand, and previously, Saturn in the United States and Canada. Following the demise of General Motors Corporation’s Saturn division in North America, Opel cars are currently rebadged and sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico,[60] and China under the Buick name with models such as the Opel Insignia/Buick Regal, Opel Astra sedan/Buick Verano (both which share underpinnings with the Chevrolet Cruze), and Opel Mokka/Buick Encore.

In 2017, GM confirmed plans of a «hybrid global brand» which includes Vauxhall, Opel and Buick to use more synergies between the brands.[61][62] This plan was overridden by the sale of Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Peugeot Citroën.

North America[edit]

United States[edit]

Opel cars appeared under their own name in the US from 1958 to 1975, when they were sold through Buick dealers as captive imports. The best-selling Opel models in the US were the 1964 to 1972 Opel Kadett, the 1971 to 1975 Opel Manta, and the 1968 to 1973 Opel GT.[63][64] (The name «Opel» was also applied from 1976 to 1980 to vehicles manufactured by Isuzu (similar to the «Isuzu I-Mark»), but mechanically those were entirely different cars).

Historically, Opel vehicles have also been sold at various times in the North American market as either heavily modified, or «badge-engineered» models under the Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, Saturn, and Cadillac brands – for instance the J-body platform, which was largely developed by Opel – was the basis of North American models such as the Chevrolet Cavalier and Cadillac Cimarron. Below is a list of current or recent Opel models which are sold under GM’s North American brands.

Buick Regal (fifth generation, 2009–2017, and sixth generation, 2018–2020)[edit]

The last two generations of the Buick Regal have been rebadged versions of the Opel Insignia.[65] The main differences are the modified radiator grill and the altered colour of the passenger compartment illumination (blue instead of red). The Regal GS is comparable to the Insignia OPC. The 5th generation Buick Regal was first assembled alongside the Insignia at the Opel plant in Rüsselsheim. In the first quarter of 2011, it began to be built on the flexible assembly line at the GM plant in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.[66] All 6th generation Buick Regals were built alongside the Insignia at the Opel plant in Rüsselsheim, Germany.

  • Opel Insignia 1st gen

    Opel Insignia 1st gen

  • Buick Regal 5th gen

  • Opel Insignia 2nd gen

    Opel Insignia 2nd gen

  • Buick Regal 6th gen

Buick Cascada[edit]

The Buick Cascada is a rebadged Opel Cascada, built in Poland and sold in the United States unchanged from the Opel in all but badging.[67][68]

  • Opel Cascada

    Opel Cascada

  • Buick Cascada

    Buick Cascada

Buick LaCrosse[edit]

Unlike the vehicles listed above, the Buick LaCrosse is not a rebadged version of an Opel model. However, it is based on a long-wheelbase version of the Opel-developed Epsilon II-platform, so shares many key components with the Opel Insignia and thereby the Buick Regal.

  • 2014 Buick LaCrosse

    2014 Buick LaCrosse

Saturn Astra (2008–2009)[edit]

The Astra H was sold in the US as the Saturn Astra for model years 2008 and 2009.

  • Opel Astra five-door

    Opel Astra five-door

  • Saturn Astra XE five-door

    Saturn Astra XE five-door

Saturn L-Series (2000–2005)[edit]

The Saturn L-Series was a modified version of the Opel Vectra B. Though the Saturn had different exterior styling and had plastic door panels, it shared the same body shape as the Opel. Both cars rode on the GM2900 platform. The Saturn also had a different interior, yet shared some interior parts, such as the inside of the doors.

  • Opel Vectra B Sedan

    Opel Vectra B Sedan

  • Saturn L-Series Sedan

    Saturn L-Series Sedan

Saturn VUE (2nd generation, 2008–2010), Chevrolet Captiva Sport[edit]

The second generation of the Saturn VUE, introduced in 2007 for the 2008 model year, was a rebadged version of the German-designed Opel Antara, manufactured in Mexico. After the demise of the Saturn brand, the VUE was discontinued, but the car continued to be produced and sold as Chevrolet Captiva Sport in Mexican and South American markets. The Chevrolet Captiva Sport was introduced for the US commercial and fleet markets in late 2011 for the 2012 model.

  • Opel Antara

    Opel Antara

  • Saturn VUE

    Saturn VUE

  • Chevrolet Captiva Sport

    Chevrolet Captiva Sport

Cadillac Catera (1997–2001)[edit]

The Opel Omega B was sold in the US as the Cadillac Catera.

  • Opel Omega

    Opel Omega

  • Cadillac Catera

    Cadillac Catera

Africa[edit]

Opel exports a variety of models to Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa.

South Africa[edit]

The 2015 Opel range in South Africa comprises the Opel Adam, Opel Astra, Opel Corsa, Opel Meriva, Opel Mokka, and Opel Vivaro. No diesel versions are offered.

From 1986 to 2003, Opel models were produced by Delta Motor Corporation, a company created through a management buyout following of GM’s divestment from apartheid South Africa. Delta assembled the Opel Kadett, with the sedan version called the Opel Monza. This was replaced by the Opel Astra, although the Kadett name was retained for the hatchback and considered a separate model. A version of the Rekord Series E remained in production after the model had been replaced by the Omega in Europe, as was a Commodore model unique to South Africa, combining the bodyshell of the Rekord with the front end of the revised Senator. The Opel Corsa was introduced in 1996, with kits of the Brazilian-designed sedan and pick-up (known in South African English as a bakkie) being locally assembled.

Although GM’s passenger vehicle line-up in South Africa consisted of Opel-based models by the late 1970s, these were sold under the Chevrolet brand name, with only the Kadett being marketed as an Opel when it was released in 1980. In 1982, the Chevrolet brand name was dropped, with the Ascona, Rekord, Commodore, and Senator being rebadged as Opels.

Oceania[edit]

Many Opel models or models based on Opel architectures have been sold in Australia and New Zealand under the Holden marque, such as the Holden Barina (1994–2005), which were rebadged versions of the Opel Corsa, the Holden Astra, a version of the Opel Astra, and the Captiva 5, a version of the Opel Antara. In New Zealand, the Opel Kadett and Ascona were sold as niche models by General Motors New Zealand in the 1980s, while the Opel brand was used on the Opel Vectra until 1994.

For the first time ever, the Opel brand was introduced to Australia on 1 September 2012, including the Corsa, Astra, Astra GTC, and Insignia models.[69][70] On 2 August 2013, Opel announced it was ending exports to Australia due to poor sales, with only 1,530 vehicles sold in the first ten months.[71][72]

After the closure of Opel Australia, Holden imports newer Opel models such as the Astra GTC (ceased 1 May 2017), Astra VXR (Astra OPC), Cascada (ceased 1 May 2017), and Insignia VXR (Insignia OPC, ceased 1 May 2017), under the Holden badge.[73] The 2018 5th-gen Holden Commodore ZB is a badge-engineered Opel Insignia, replacing the Australian-made, rear-wheel-drive Commodore with the German-made front-wheel/all-wheel-drive Insignia platform; however this model is no longer offered since the closure of Holden.

Opel returned to the New Zealand market in 2022, backed by the existing importer of the Peugeot and Citroën brands.[74][75]

Asia[edit]

China[edit]

Opel’s presence in China recommenced in 2012 with the Antara, and added the Insignia estate in 2013.[76] Opel-derived models are also sold as Buick. On 28 March 2014, Opel announced that it would leave China in 2015.[77]

Japan[edit]

Opel was long General Motors’ strongest marque in Japan, with sales peaking at 38,000 in 1996. However, the brand was withdrawn from the Japanese market in December 2006, with just 1,800 sales there in 2005.[78] Since then, Opel has not sold any cars or SUVs in Japan. Opel is plan to returning to the Japanese market in 2022.[79]

Singapore[edit]

A wide range of Opel models are exported to Singapore.

Malaysia[edit]

Opel was marketed in Malaysia beginning from the 1970s, and early models exported were Kadett, Gemini, and Manta. Opel had moderate sales from the 1980s until the early 2000s, when Malaysian car buyers favoured Japanese and Korean brand cars such as Toyota, Honda, Hyundai (Inokom) and Kia (Naza), which offered more competitive prices. Sales of Opel cars in Malaysia were dropped then, as Opel’s prices were slightly higher than the same-segment Japanese, Korean, and local Proton and Perodua cars, and they were hard to maintain, had bad aftersales services, and spare parts were not readily available.

Opel was withdrawn from Malaysian market in 2003, and the last models sold were the Zafira, Astra, and Vectra, and the rebadged Isuzu MU as the Frontera, later replaced by Chevrolet.

India[edit]

Opel India Pvt Ltd (OIPL) was founded in 1996 and gave the average Indian car buyers their first choice of (somewhat) affordable German engineering with the Astra sedan. Opel was withdrawn from the Indian market in 2006, replaced by Chevrolet.

Indonesia[edit]

Since 1938, the country has been producing Opels in a General Motors-owned plant since 1938. The plant was nationalized in 1957. In 1995, General Motors invested a new manufacturing plant in Indonesia, producing the Opel Astra (as Opel Optima), Opel Vectra, and Chevrolet Blazer (as Opel Blazer).[80] The latter was proved a sales success in the country.[81] In 2002, the Opel brand was replaced by the global Chevrolet brand.[82]

Thailand[edit]

Since the 1970s Opel cars were imported with Holden cars by Universal Motors Thailand and Asoke Motors. They imported the Opel Rekord, Holden Torana, and the Opel Olympia.
In the middle of the era the next importer is Phranakorn Yontrakarn (PNA) which starting importing cars to Thailand in the mid-1980s. PNA imported the Kadett, Astra, Vectra, Omega, and the Calibra to Thailand. On the last era of Opel in Thailand was managed by General Motors Thailand they’re planned to build assembly plant in Rayong. They planned to manufacture the Zafira in Thailand, the Zafira has shown at BOI Fair in 1998–1999 in Thailand and from the Asian financial crisis on that time they withdrawn from Thailand in 2000 and replaced by Chevrolet.

Philippines[edit]

Opel was one of the most popular non-Japanese car brands in the country during the 1970s and the 1980s alongside Ford, but left the Filipino market in 1985 as a result of the economic crisis at that time. GM Philippines returned with the Opel brand in 1997, and started selling the Vectra, Omega and later the Tigra and Astra. Sales were good years after its introduction but Opel still struggled as Japanese manufacturers dominated the local automobile market. GM Philippines withdrew the brand by 2004–2005 due to poor sales. The last cars sold by Opel in the country before leaving the Philippine market were the Astra and the Zafira A (Which was being sold under the Chevrolet brand). The Opel brand was later replaced by Chevrolet’s lineup.

Taiwan[edit]

In the 1980s, Kadett E and Omega A were imported to the Taiwanese market but the dealers imported base models and modified them with unstable quality. The CAC company became the sole import agent of Opel in Taiwan and the models were later manufacturing and sold the Astra F and Vectra B in the market. However, CAC went bankrupt in the late 1990s and stopped manufacturing Opel cars. GM Taiwan and then Yulon GM, a joint venture between Yulong and General Motors, kept importing and selling Astra G/H, Corsa B/C, Omega B, and Zafira A/B in Taiwan until 2012.[83][84][85] In 2022, Master Win Group announce to relaunch Opel in Taiwan market. [86]

South America[edit]

Several Opel models were sold across Latin America, mainly Brazil and Argentina, for decades with Chevrolet development badges and its derivatives, including the Corsa, Kadett, Astra, Vectra, Omega, Meriva, and Zafira. In the early 2010s, the Chevrolet line-up changed to adopt North American models such as the Spark, Sonic, and Cruze, or local own Brazilian development models like the Cobalt, Celta, Onix, Spin and Agile, which only Onix is still produced.

Opel has exported a wide range of products to Chile since 2011 and Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay since 2021.[87]

Europe[edit]

Great Britain[edit]

Ireland[edit]

In the 1980s, Opel became the sole GM brand name in Ireland, with the Vauxhall brand having been dropped.[88] Vauxhall’s Managing Director has also been Opel Ireland’s Chief Executive since 2015.[89]

There were two Opel-franchised assembly plants in Ireland in the 1960s. One in Ringsend, Dublin, was operated by Reg Armstrong Motors, which also assembled NSU cars and motorcycles. The second assembly plant was based in Cork and operated by O’Shea’s, which also assembled Škoda cars and Zetor tractors. The models assembled were the Kadett and the Rekord. From 1966, the Admiral was imported as a fully built unit and became a popular seller.

European Car of the Year[edit]

Opel have produced five winners of the European Car of the Year competition:

  • 1985: Opel Kadett E
  • 1987: Opel Omega A
  • 2009: Opel Insignia
  • 2012: Opel Ampera
  • 2016: Opel Astra K

Shortlisted models[edit]

Several models have been shortlisted,[clarification needed] including the:

  • 1980: Opel Kadett D
  • 1981: Opel Ascona C
  • 1989: Opel Vectra A
  • 1991: Opel Calibra
  • 1992: Opel Astra F
  • 1995: Opel Omega B
  • 1999: Opel Astra G
  • 2000: Opel Zafira A
  • 2007: Opel Corsa D
  • 2010: Opel Astra J
  • 2011: Opel Meriva B

Nomenclature[edit]

From the late 1930s to the 1980s, terms from the German Navy (Kapitän, Admiral, Kadett) and from other official sectors (Diplomat, Senator) were often used as model names. Since the late 1980s, the model names of Opel passenger cars end with an a. As Opels were no longer being sold in Great Britain, the need to have separate model names for essentially identical Vauxhall and Opel cars (although some exceptions were made to suit the British market) was made redundant. The last series to be renamed across the two companies was the Opel Kadett, being the only Opel to take the name of its Vauxhall counterpart, as Opel Astra. Although only two generations of Astra were built prior to the 1991 model, the new car was referred to across Europe as the Astra F, referring to its Kadett lineage. Until 1993, the Opel Corsa was known as the Vauxhall Nova in Great Britain, as Vauxhall had initially felt that Corsa sounded too much like «coarse», and would not catch on.

Exceptions to the nomenclature of ending names with an «a» include the under-licence built Monterey, the Speedster (also known as the Vauxhall VX220 in Great Britain), GT (which was not sold at all as a Vauxhall, despite the VX Lightning concept), the Signum, Karl, and the Adam. The Adam was initially supposed to be called, «Junior» as was its developmental codename and because the name ‘Adam’ had no history/importance to the Vauxhall marque.

Similar to the passenger cars, the model names of commercial vehicles end with an o (Combo, Vivaro, Movano), except the Corsavan and Astravan for obvious reasons.

Another unique aspect to Opel nomenclature is its use of the «Caravan» (originally styled as ‘Car-A-Van’) name to denote its station wagon body configuration, (similar to Volkswagen’s Variant or Audi’s Avant designations), a practice the company observed for many decades, which finally ceased with the 2008 Insignia and 2009 Astra, where the name «Sports Tourer» is now used for the estate/station wagon versions.

Current model range[edit]

The following tables list current and announced Opel production vehicles as of 2022:

Corsa
(Production: 1982–present) 		Opel Corsa-e at IAA 2019 IMG 0738.jpg Supermini
  • Hatchback
Astra
(Production: 1991–present) 		Opel Astra L Auto Zuerich 2021 IMG 0320.jpg Small family car
  • Hatchback
  • Sports Tourer (Estate/Wagon)
Zafira
(A rebadged Peugeot Traveller/Citroën SpaceTourer)
(Production: 1999–present) 		Opel Zafira Life IMG 3458.jpg Minivan (Was previously a compact MPV from 1999 to 2019)
  • MPV
Mokka
(Production: 2012–present) 		Opel Insignia Grand Sport 1.6 Diesel Business Innovation (B) – Frontansicht, 5. Mai 2017, Düsseldorf Subcompact crossover SUV
  • Crossover SUV
Crossland
(Production: 2017–present) 		Opel Crossland IMG 4883.jpg Subcompact crossover SUV
  • Crossover SUV
Grandland
(Production: 2017–present) 		Opel Grandland Hybrid4 Auto Zuerich 2021 IMG 0341.jpg Compact crossover SUV
  • Crossover SUV
Combo Life
(A rebadged Peugeot Rifter/Citroën Berlingo)
(Production: 2018–present) 		2018 Opel Combo Life Leonberg IMG 0158.jpg Leisure activity vehicle
  • MPV
Rocks
(A rebadged Citroën Ami)
(Production: 2021–present) 		Opel Rocks-e 1X7A0315.jpg Quadricycle
  • Quadricycle

Light commercial vehicles[edit]

Combo
(A rebadged Peugeot Partner/Citroën Berlingo)
(Was previously a panel van version of the Opel Kadett from 1986 to 1993)
(Was previously a panel van version of the Opel Corsa from 1993 to 2006)
(Was previously a rebadged Fiat Doblò from 2012 to 2018)
(Production: 1986–present) 		Opel Combo Monrepos 2019 IMG 1929.jpg Panel van
  • Van
Movano
(A rebadged Fiat Ducato)
(Was previously a rebadged Renault Master from 1998 to 2021)
(Production: 1998–present) 		Opel Movano B front 20100705.jpg Light commercial vehicle
  • Van
  • Chassis cab
  • Crew cab
Vivaro
(A rebadged Peugeot Expert/Citroën Jumpy)
(Was previously a rebadged Renault Trafic from 2001 to 2019)
(Production: 2001–present) 		Opel Vivaro-e IMG 5430.jpg Light commercial vehicle
  • Van
  • Chassis cab

Discontinued models[edit]

Introduced before acquisition by General Motors (1899–1929)[edit]

System Lutzmann

Lutzmann Motorcar.jpg

 1899–1902
10/12 PS 1902–1906
Darracq

1902 Opel Darracq.jpg

 1902–1907
20/22 PS 1903–1906
12/14 PS 1904–1908
14/20 PS

1904-1906 Opel 16-18 PS double phaeton (2012-10-26) 02.jpg

 1904–1908
35/40 PS 1905–1909
45/50 PS 1906–1909
18/30 PS 1907–1909
10/18 PS

Opel 10 18 PS Doppelphaeton 1908.jpg

 1907–1910
33/60 PS 1908–1913
Doktorwagen

Opel 4 8 PS Doktorwagen 1910.jpg

 1909–1910
6/12 PS 1909–1910
6/14 PS

1910 Opel Touring.JPG

 1909–1910
15/24 PS

Opel 16-35 PS 1.jpg

 1909–1911
21/45 PS 1909–1914
8/16 PS

1908 Opel 8 16 Doppelphaeton Lingen 08.08.2010 (3).jpg

 1910–1911
28/70 PS 1910–1914
24/50 PS

Opel 25-55 pic1.JPG

 1910–1916
8/20 PS

Opel 8-20 PS (1911) at Autoworld Brussels (8460369149).jpg

 1911–1916
10/24 PS 1911–1916
6/16 PS

Opel 6 16 PS Zweisitzer 1910.jpg

 1911–1920
Puppchen

Opel 5-12 PS (1911) Classic-Gala 2021 1X7A0283.jpg

 1911–1920
18/40 PS 1912–1914
40/100 PS 1912–1916
13/30 PS

Opel 14-48 PS 1.jpg

 1912–1924
34/80 PS 1914–1916
12/34 PS 1916–1919
18/50 PS 1916–1919
9/25 PS

Opel 9 25 PS Doppelphaeton 1912.jpg

 1916–1922
21/55 PS 1919–1924
30/75 PS 1919–1924
8M21 1921–1922
10/30 PS

Opel 10-35 PS 1.jpg

 1922–1924
Laubfrosch

Opel laubfrosch.jpg

 1924–1931
10/40 PS 1925–1929
12/50 PS 1927–1929
15/60 PS 1927–1929
8/40 PS

Opel touring car (8353272381).jpg

 1927–1930
Regent

Opel Regent.jpg

 1928–1929

Introduced after acquisition by General Motors (1929–2017)[edit]

Blitz
(A rebadged Bedford CF)

Bedford blitz v sst.jpg

 1930–1988
1.8 Liter

Opel Model 18B 1,8-Liter 4-Door Sedan 1931b.jpg

 1931–1933
P4

Opel P4, Baujahr 1936 (Sp).JPG

 1931–1937
1.3 litre

Opel 1.3ltr. Bj 1934-2.jpg

 1934–1935
»6«

Opel Regent Pullman-Limousine 1936.jpg

 1934–1937
Olympia

1968-Opel-Olympia.jpg

 1935–1940 (Original)
1947–1953 (1st Revival)
1967–1970 (2nd Revival)
Super 6

Opel Super 6 BW 3.JPG

 1937–1938
Admiral

OPEL-DIPLOMAT-A.jpg

 1937–1939 (Original)
1964–1976 (Revival)
Kadett

Opel Kadett E 1991.jpg

 1937–1940 (Original)
1962–1993 (Revival)
Kapitän

Opel Kapitän B BW 1.JPG

 1939–1940 (Original)
1948–1970 (Revival)
Rekord

Opel Rekord E2 front 20081218.jpg

 1953–1986
Diplomat

Opel Diplomat V8 1Y7A6126.jpg

 1964–1977
Commodore

Opel Commodore C vl red.jpg

 1967–1982
GT
(A rebadged Saturn Sky)

Opel GT front.JPG

 1968–1973 (Original)
2007–2009 (Revival)
Ascona

Opel Ascona.JPG

 1970–1988
Manta
(To be revived as an electic car in 2025)

1987 Opel Manta GSI.jpg

 1970–1988
K 180
(Latin America only)

Opel K-180 1.JPG

 1974–1978
Gemini
(A rebadged Isuzu Gemini)
(Malaysia and Thailand only)

Isuzu Gemini PF Osaka JPN 001.jpg

 1975–1983
Monza

OPEL-VAUX-MONZA-A-FACELIFT.jpg

 1978–1986
Senator

Opel Senator B front 20080102.jpg

 1978–1993
Chevette
(A rebadged Vauxhall Chevette)

Vauxhall Chevette Sedanlette.jpg

 1980–1982
Omega

Opel Omega II 2.2i Facelift front 20100509.jpg

 1986–2003
Vectra

Opel Vectra C 2.2 Direkt front.JPG

 1988–2008
Calibra

Opel Calibra front 20071212.jpg

 1990–1997
Campo
(A rebadged Isuzu Faster)

2001 Opel Campo TFS 54 Sports Cab (8067005773).jpg

 1991–2001
Frontera
(A rebadged Isuzu MU/Isuzu Wizard)

Opel Frontera front 20080730.jpg

 1991–2004
Monterey
(A rebadged Isuzu Trooper)

OPEL-VAUX-MONTERREY-FACELIFT.jpg

 1992–1999
Tigra

Opel Tigra Twin Top 20090510 front.jpg

 1994–2001 (Original)
2004–2009 (Revival)
Calais
(A rebadged Holden Calais)
(Malaysia and Singapore only)

1996 Holden Commodore (VS) Equipe sedan (2015-07-15) 01.jpg

 1995–1997
Blazer
(A rebadged Chevrolet Blazer)
(Indonesia only)

Opel Blazer front, Karangasem.jpg

 1995–2002
Sintra
(A rebadged Chevrolet Venture)

OPEL-VAUX-SINTRA-A.jpg

 1996–1999
Arena
(A rebadged Renault Trafic)

Opel arena passenger side.jpg

 1997–2000
Agila
(A rebadged Suzuki Splash)
(Was previously a rebadged Suzuki Solio from 2000 to 2008)

Opel Agila B front.JPG

 2000–2014
Speedster

Opel Speedster IMG 5210.jpg

 2001–2005
Signum

Opel Signum front 20090919.jpg

 2003–2008
Meriva Meriva B Facelift Front.jpg 2003–2017
Antara Opel Antara 2.4 4x4 Design Edition (Facelift) – Frontansicht, 29. Oktober 2011, Düsseldorf.jpg 2006–2015
Insignia

Opel Insignia Grand Sport 1.6 Diesel Business Innovation (B) – Frontansicht, 5. Mai 2017, Düsseldorf

 2008–2022
Ampera
(A rebadged Chevrolet Volt) 		Opel Ampera – Frontansicht, 18. Juni 2012, Düsseldorf.jpg 2012–2015
Adam Opel Adam 1.4 Slam – Frontansicht, 15. Januar 2014, Düsseldorf.jpg 2013–2019
Cascada Opel Cascada 1.6 EDIT Innovation – Frontansicht, 23. März 2014, Düsseldorf.jpg 2013–2019
Karl
(A rebadged Chevrolet Spark) 		Opel KARL (2).jpg 2015–2019
Ampera-e
(A rebadged Chevrolet Bolt) 		Opel Ampera-e mit BMW-Genosse als Hintergrund.jpg 2017–2019

Motorsports[edit]

Opel Rally Team took part in World Rally Championship in the early 1980s with the Opel Ascona 400 and the Opel Manta 400, developed in conjunction with Irmscher and Cosworth. Walter Röhrl won the 1982 World Rally Championship drivers’ title, and the 1983 Safari Rally was won by Ari Vatanen.

In the 1990s, Opel took part in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft and the succeeding International Touring Car Championship, and won the 1996 championship with the Calibra. Opel took part in the revived German DTM race series between 2000 and 2005 with the Astra and Vectra models, but after winning several races in 2000, it struggled for results afterwards and never won the championship. However, Opel won the Nürburgring 24 Hours with the Astra in 2003.

Opel returned to motorsport competition with the Adam in 2013.[90]

In 2014, Opel presented a road-legal sport version of the Adam R2 Rally Car – the Opel Adam S[91] – powered by a 1.4 L turbocharged engine which generates 150 HP. The car makes 0–100 km/h in just 8.5 seconds.

See also[edit]

  • Fritz von Opel
  • Rikky von Opel
  • Wilhelm von Opel
  • Irmscher
  • Steinmetz Opel Tuning
  • IDA-Opel
  • List of German cars

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c «Opel History». Opel. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  2. ^ Opel Corporate Communications (2014). «Year in Review 2014 – Facts & Figures» (PDF). Opel. Adam Opel AG. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b «Facts».
  4. ^ «Statista». 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  5. ^ a b «PSA Group purchase of Opel and Vauxhall completed with new financial company». www.autocar.co.uk. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  6. ^ Mihalascu, Dan (25 May 2013). «OPC Boss Volker Strycek Drives and Talks About the Astra OPC». Carscoops. Carscoop & Carscoops. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  7. ^ «Form 10-K Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2012 Commission File Number 001-34960 General Motors Company» (PDF). General Motors. General Motors Company. 15 February 2013. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  8. ^ «PSA targets Opel turnaround as GM exits Europe». Reuters. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  9. ^ «Locations & Facts». Opel. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
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  12. ^ «Lutzmann». Cartype. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
  13. ^ «History & Heritage — Our Company — GM.com». Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  14. ^ Weernink, Wim Oude (21 June 1999). «Opel: German Roots, Global Reach». Automotive News Europe. p. 24B.
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  17. ^ Boyne, Walter J. (1 September 2004). «The Rocket Men». Air Force Magazine. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
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  19. ^ Das RAK-Protokoll. a 25-minute documentary on the Opel RAK program
  20. ^ Winter, Frank H. (30 April 2021). «A Century Before Elon Musk, There Was Fritz von Opel». Air & Space Magazine. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
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  25. ^ a b Martin, F.A.E. (December 1946). «Das Alte stürzt…Es aendert sich die Zeit……und neues Leben blüht aus den Ruinen». Das Auto. 1: 2–3.
  26. ^ Ludvigsen, p. 60
  27. ^ Mazzocchi, Gianni, ed. (April 1984). «Autonotizie: Anche la Opel si dà al turbo» [Car News: Opel too with turbo]. Quattroruote (in Italian). Milan, Italy: Editoriale Domus. 29 (342): 108.
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  39. ^ «Carmaker Opel pulls out of China, to build Buicks for parent GM». Deutsche Welle. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  40. ^ «General Motors to withdraw Chevrolet brand from Europe». BBC. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  41. ^ a b Frost, Lawrence; Taylor, Edward (6 March 2017). «PSA targets Opel turnaround as GM exits Europe». Reuters. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  42. ^ Welch, David (6 March 2017). «GM to Make Pension Payments for Years Just to Get Out of Europe». Bloomberg. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  43. ^ «Michael Lohscheller Appointed New CEO of Opel, media.opel.com, 12 June 2017».
  44. ^ «2018 Annual Results – PSA Groupe» (PDF). Archived from the original on 10 August 2019.
  45. ^ «Nach Dauerkrise: Opel verbucht ersten Gewinn seit fast 20 Jahren». Spiegel Online. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  46. ^ «Uwe Hochgeschurtz will join Opel as new brand CEO on September 1st, Stellantis.com». Stellantis. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  47. ^ «Opel boss Michael Lohscheller to join VinFast as new CEO». Wheels Magazine Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  48. ^ a b c Note: The powertrain plant Opel Wien GmbH in Aspern/Vienna (Austria) is not a subsidiary of Adam Opel AG but a first-tier subsidiary of General Motors Europe Limited (GME) (99.5%) and of GM AUTOMOTIVE UK (GMAUK) (0.5%), see «Opel Wien GmbH, FN 110500a». FirmenABC Marketing GmbH. Retrieved 3 April 2017. Both, GME and GMAUK, are located in Luton. GME Ltd. itself is a daughter company of GM CME Holdings CV, which is directly controlled by the General Motors Corporation (GMC), see «Name: GENERAL MOTORS EUROPE LIMITED, Company Number: 07556915». Company search, Made Simple Group Ltd. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  49. ^ «Opel Design: «Sculpural artistry meets German precision» — discover the unique Opel design language — Opel International». Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  50. ^ Opel bekommt neuen Chef. www.tagesschau.de: Pressemitteilung der Adam Opel AG. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  51. ^ Trefis Team (18 April 2012). «GM Is Headed For $27.50 Unless Europe Bleeds More Cash». Forbes. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  52. ^ «Opel Officially Appoints Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann As Chairman, GM Europe President, GM Vice President». 31 January 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  53. ^ «Erster Opel-Hybrid läuft in Eisenach vom Band».
  54. ^ Kai Schöneberg (30 September 2021). «Kurzarbeit für 1.300 Opel-Mitarbeiter: Keine Chips, keine Arbeit». Die Tageszeitung: Taz. taz.de. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  55. ^ «Opel Announces Plan To Build Mokka in Spain Beginning 2014». 10 July 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  56. ^ «GM Purchases Remaining Shares in Tychy Plant». Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  57. ^ General Motors Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H. (GMA, founded 1963 as sales organisation; from 1979: Administration, Non-productive Departments an Sales) and General Motors Austria Werke Gesellschaft m.b.H. (GMAW founded 1979; Production). In November 1987 GMAW (Austrian Handelsregister, HRB 24.436) were merged into GMA (HRB 20.133b, actual Firmenbuch FN 110500a).
  58. ^ Parnell, John (30 January 2020). «Total and Opel Consider Gigafactory-Sized Battery Plants in France and Germany». www.greentechmedia.com.
  59. ^ «Opel International». Opel.com. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  60. ^ «Buick Launches Regal Turbo in Mexico». 21 September 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  61. ^ «Opel, Buick To Expand Product Sharing, Become A «Hybrid Global Brand»«. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  62. ^ «Tina Müller New Chief Marketing Officer and Opel Board Member». 26 June 2013. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  63. ^ «Opel Motorsport Club». Opel Motorsport Club. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  64. ^ «Opel GT». Opel GT. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  65. ^ «GM and Opel’s Strange Love – Feature». 11 March 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  66. ^ «2011 Buick Regal Will be Built in Canada». Blog.caranddriver.com. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  67. ^ «Buick Cascada: Developed in Germany and Built in Poland». media.gm.com. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  68. ^ «2016 Buick Cascada Convertible: From Opel, with Love – Official Photos and Info». Retrieved 20 June 2017.
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  72. ^ «Jobs to go as Opel abandons Australia». Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  73. ^ «Opel to Build Vehicles for Holden in Australia and New Zealand». Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  74. ^ Gasnier, Tom (24 March 2022). «Opel to launch in New Zealand».
  75. ^ «Opel returns to Australasia – but New Zealand only». WhichCar.
  76. ^ «First Opel Insignia Sports Tourer in China Delivered to Customer». Opel. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  77. ^ «Opel Invests 245 Million Euros in Ruesselsheim». Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  78. ^ «Opel pulls out of Japanese market». Automotive News Europe. 11 May 2006. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  79. ^ «オペル日本語サイトオープン 発売およびディーラーオープンは2022年上半期を予定。». newsroom.groupepsajapan.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  80. ^ GridOto.com. «Ini Alasan Blazer Pertama Dipasarkan di Indonesia Pakai Nama Opel — GridOto.com». jip.gridoto.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 24 October 2020.
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External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Opel.

  • Official website Edit this at Wikidata
  • Opel at Curlie
  • Technical specifications of Opel models
  • Opel’s channel on YouTube
  • Documents and clippings about Opel in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
Источник

Перевод «опель» на английский

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мн.
опели

Opel






В последний раз её видели, садящейся в красный «Опель Универсал».

She was last seen hitching a ride with a red Opel station wagon.

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Словосочетания (9)

  1. Опель Астра — Opel Astra
  2. Опель Зафира — Opel Zafira
  3. Опель Инсигния — Opel Insignia
  4. Опель Корса — Opel Corsa
  5. Опель Мерива — Opel Meriva
  6. Опель Мокка — Opel Mokka
  7. Опель Сигнум — Opel Signum
  8. Опель Тигра — Opel Tigra
  9. Опель Фронтера — Opel Frontera

Контексты

В последний раз её видели, садящейся в красный «Опель Универсал».
She was last seen hitching a ride with a red Opel station wagon.

30 ноября 1993 года был украден автомобиль » Опель » и его регистрационные номера были заменены.
On 30 November 1993, an Opel vehicle had been stolen and its number plates had been changed.

В компании Опель использовали эту технологию для создания этого каркаса машины, которую они называют бионической.
Actually G.M. Opel used it to create that skeleton you see, in what’s called their bionic car.

Например, этот двухместный Опель развивает скорость 250 км/час при расходе в 2,5 л/100 км.
For example, this Opel two-seater does 155 miles an hour at 94 miles a gallon.

В некотором смысле, они, как и Крупп или Опель (если не более), представляют собой тип капитализма, который вне всяких ограничений.
In a sense, they, as much as Krupp or Opel (if not more so), represent a type of capitalism that is being untethered from all necessary restraints.

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  • 1
    Opel

    Большой англо-русский и русско-английский словарь > Opel

  • 2
    Opel

    Англо-русский дорожно-транспортный словарь > Opel

  • 3
    Opel

    Англо-русский универсальный дополнительный практический переводческий словарь И. Мостицкого > Opel

  • 4
    OPC

    6) Автомобильный термин: Центр доработки Опель , онлайновый каталог запасных частей (Online Parts Catalogue)

    20) Микроэлектроника: оптическая коррекция масок

    27) Электротехника: off-peak (operating) conditions, operating conditions, overspeed protection controller

    29) Hi-Fi. Optimum Picture Control

    32) AMEX. Q C Optics, Inc.

    Универсальный англо-русский словарь > OPC

  • 5
    PDA

    2) Военный термин: Part Design Approval, Personal Data Assistant, payroll deduction authorization, permanent duty assignment, post-delivery availability, predelivery acceptance, principal development activity, procurement defense agencies, property disposal account, property disposal agent, proposed development approach

    3) Техника: parallel disk array, peak distribution analyzer, percent defective allowable, photon detector assembly, positive dielectric anisotropy, post acceleration, post deflection acceleration, predocketed application, preliminary design acceptance, preliminary design analysis, preliminary design approval, preliminary design assessment, preliminary design authorization, probability distribution analyzer, processing and distribution assembly, pulse distribution amplifier, Process Data Acquisition

    11) Полиграфия: СБО

    13) Сокращение: Personal Digital Assistant , Port Defence Area, Portable Digital Assistant, Project Definition Assessment

    Универсальный англо-русский словарь > PDA

  • 6
    pda

    2) Военный термин: Part Design Approval, Personal Data Assistant, payroll deduction authorization, permanent duty assignment, post-delivery availability, predelivery acceptance, principal development activity, procurement defense agencies, property disposal account, property disposal agent, proposed development approach

    3) Техника: parallel disk array, peak distribution analyzer, percent defective allowable, photon detector assembly, positive dielectric anisotropy, post acceleration, post deflection acceleration, predocketed application, preliminary design acceptance, preliminary design analysis, preliminary design approval, preliminary design assessment, preliminary design authorization, probability distribution analyzer, processing and distribution assembly, pulse distribution amplifier, Process Data Acquisition

    11) Полиграфия: СБО

    13) Сокращение: Personal Digital Assistant , Port Defence Area, Portable Digital Assistant, Project Definition Assessment

    Универсальный англо-русский словарь > pda

  • 7
    General Motors Corporation

    «Дженерал моторз корпорейшн», крупнейшая промышленная корпорация в мире. Свыше 100 заводов в США и других странах мира. Производит более половины автомобилей, выпускаемых в США [*Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile Buick, Cadillac], грузовики и автобусы с эмблемой GMC, моторы, а

    тж.

    локомотивы и аэрокосмическую технику. За пределами США на заводах корпорации производятся «Воксхолл» (Vauxhall, Великобритания), «Опель» (Opel, Германия) и «Холден» (Holden, Австралия)

    США. Лингвострановедческий англо-русский словарь > General Motors Corporation

См. также в других словарях:

  • Opel 4/12 PS — Opel Laubfrosch: Dasselbe in grün Der Opel 4 PS, im Volksmund Opel Laubfrosch genannt, bezeichnet die Opel Modelle, die zwischen 1924 und 1931 produziert wurden. Der Opel 4/12 PS, das Grundmodell, war das erste in Deutschland am Fließband gebaute …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Opel P 4 — Opel P4 (Spezial Limousine) Opel P4 (Spezial Limousine) bei einer Oldtimerparade (1984) Der Opel P4 war ein Automobil, von dem die Adam Opel AG zwischen 1935 und 1937 im Stammwerk …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Opel GT — (1968–1973) Der Opel GT ist ein zweisitziges Coupé Modell der Automarke Opel, das von Oktober 1968 bis Mitte 1973 103.463 mal gebaut wurde. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Opel GT — Manufacturer Opel Production 1968–1973 Assembly Rüsselsheim, Germany …   Wikipedia

  • Opel GT — Constructeur …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Opel 4/8 PS — Opel Opel „Doktorwagen Opel 4/8 PS Hersteller: Adam Opel KG Verkaufsbezeichnung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Opel P4 — Opel Opel P4 (Spezial Limousine) P4 Hersteller: Opel Produktionszeitraum: 1935–1937 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Opel P4 — Opel P4 …   Википедия

  • Opel 4 PS — Opel Laubfrosch: „Dasselbe in grün“ Als Opel 4 PS, im Volksmund Opel Laubfrosch genannt, wurden Pkw bezeichnet, die von der Adam Opel KG (ab 1929 AG) in Rüsselsheim zwischen Mai 1924 und Juni 1931 produziert wurden. Der Opel 4/12 PS, das… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Opel GT — Opel GT …   Википедия

  • Opel 5/12 PS — Opel Opel 5/12 PS (1912) 5/12 PS Hersteller: Opel Produktionszeitraum: 1911–1920 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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Источник
Adam Opel AG

OPEL 2009 logo.png
Type Aktiengesellschaft
Founded January 21, 1862
Founder(s) Adam Opel
Headquarters Adam Opel Haus
Rüsselsheim, Germany
Number of locations 11 manufacturing facilities in 6 countries
Area served Europe, Middle East/Africa, Asia/Pacific
Key people
  • Walter G. Borst
    (Chairman)
  • Karl-Friedrich Stracke
    (CEO)
Industry Automotive
Products Automobiles
Engines
Production output 1,178,157 units (2010)
Services Financial services
Revenue (turnover) ▼ €11 billion (2010)
Employees 40,458 (2010)
Parent General Motors Company
Subsidiaries Opel Performance Center
Opel Special Vehicles
Website Opel.com

Opel’s main portal and site building in Rüsselsheim near the train station in front of the statue of the founder, Adam Opel

Adam Opel AG[1] is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862.[2] Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an AG in 1929. In late 2005, the company was transformed into a GmbH (PLC).

The company is headquartered at the Adam Opel Haus in Rüsselsheim, and has been a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Company since 1929.

Opel has announced that it will invest around 11 billion Euros in the next five years. One billion of that is designated solely for the development of innovative and fuel-saving engines and transmissions.

History

Advertisement for Opel Perfecta-Sewing Machines (1901)

The company was founded in Rüsselsheim, Hesse, Germany on January 21, 1862 by Adam Opel. At the beginning, Opel just produced sewing machines in a cowshed in Rüsselsheim. Above all, his success was based on his perfectly customized sewing machines. Because of the quick growth of his business, in 1888 the production was relocated from the cowshed to a more spacious building in Rüsselsheim. Encouraged by success, Adam Opel launched a new product in 1886: He began to sell high-wheel bicycles, also known as penny-farthings. Besides, Opel’s two sons participated in high-wheel bicycle races and thus promoted this means of transportation. Therefore, the production of high-wheel bicycles soon exceeded the production of sewing machines.[3] At the time of Opel’s death in 1895, he was the leader in both markets.

The first cars were produced in 1899 after Opel’s sons entered into a partnership with Friedrich Lutzmann, a locksmith at the court in Dessau in Saxony-Anhalt, who had been working on automobile designs for some time.[4] These cars were not very successful and so the partnership was dissolved after two years, following which Opel’s sons signed a licensing agreement with the French Automobiles Darracq S.A. to manufacture vehicles under the brand name «Opel-Darracq». These cars were made up of Opel bodies mounted on a Darracq chassis, powered by a 2-cylinder engine.

In 1901, Adam Opel separated from Lutzmann and signed a new contract with a Frenchman, Alexandre Darracq. The company first showed cars of its own design at the 1902 Hamburg Motor Show, and started manufacturing them in 1906, with Opel-Darracq production being discontinued in 1907.

In 1909, the Opel 4/8 hp model, known as the «Doctor’s Car» was produced. Its reliability and robustness were greatly appreciated by physicians, who drove a lot to see their patients, back when hard-surfaced roads were still rare. The «Doctor’s Car» sold for only 3,950 marks, about half as much as the luxury models of its day.

In 1911, the company’s factory was virtually destroyed by fire and a new one was built with more up-to-date machinery.

By 1914, Opel had become the largest German manufacturer of motor vehicles.

In the early 1920s, Opel became the first German car manufacturer to incorporate a mass production assembly line in the building of their automobiles. In 1924, they used their assembly line to produce a new open two-seater called the «Laubfrosch». The Laubfrosch was finished exclusively in green lacquer. The car sold for an expensive 4,500 marks, (expensive considering the less expensive manufacturing process) but by the 1930s this type of vehicle would cost a mere 1,990 marks — due in part to the assembly line, but also due to the skyrocketing demand for cars. Adam Opel led the way for motorized transportation to become not just a means for the rich, but a reliable way for people of all classes to travel.

1902 Opel Darracq

Opel had a 37.5% market share in Germany and was also the country’s largest automobile exporter in 1928. The «Regent» — Opel’s first eight-cylinder car — was offered. The RAK 1 and RAK 2 rocket-propelled cars made sensational record-breaking runs.

In March 1929, General Motors (GM), impressed by Opel’s modern production facilities, bought 80% of the company, increasing this to 100% in 1931. The Opel family gained $33.3 million from the transaction. Subsequently, a second factory was built at Brandenburg for the production of «Blitz» light trucks.

In 1935, Opel became the first German car manufacturer to produce over 100,000 vehicles a year. This was based on the popular Opel «P4» model. The selling price was a mere 1,650 marks and had a 23 hp (17 kW) 1.1 L four-cylinder engine and a top speed of 85 km/h (53 mph). Opel also produced the first mass-production vehicle with a self-supporting all steel body. They called it the «Olympia». With its small weight and aerodynamics came an improvement in both performance and fuel consumption. Opel receives a patent which is considered one of the most important innovations in automotive history.

1939 saw the presentation of the extremely successful, «Kapitän». With a 2.5 L six-cylinder engine, all-steel body, front independent suspension, hydraulic shock absorbers, hot-water heating w/electric blower and central speedometer. 25,374 Kapitäns left the factory before intensification World War II brought automotive manufacturing to a temporary stop in the Autumn/Fall of 1940, by order of the government.

World War II

World War II brought to Rüsselsheim the only year in the entire history of Opel — 1945 — in which it produced no vehicles at all, since that first Lutzmann-authored Opel was made in 1899. Before the conflict broke out, the Adam Opel AG had established itself as the largest motor vehicle manufacturer in Europe. The combination of Opel know-how with GM resources had produced outstanding results. In spite of stifling red tape, the economic atmosphere in Germany in the 1930s had powerfully fertilized the growth of this and other auto companies. But in the case of Opel, at least, it was clear that the expansion of this industrial machine was not directed in any way toward military objectives.

Military LKW Opel Blitz, Italy, 1944

Even after June 1940, official connections between Opel and America were not broken and monetary gain continued throughout the war which was controlled by the J.P Morgan firm, the Rüsselsheim plant was never given a major role in Germany’s war preparations. Neither was Ford’s plant in Cologne considered trustworthy enough for a big assignment, such as tank manufacture, in view of their earlier foreign associations. Initially, of course, it had appeared that the war would be a short one settled in Germany’s favor. Auto plants were shut down, to conserve resources, but not converted to other jobs.

When in 1942 it became clearer that the fighting would go on for a while, car and truck factories were switched to war work in a modest way, Opel taking up the production of aircraft parts and tanks. Only at the Brandenburg truck plant did vehicle manufacture roar ahead at full speed. From the end of 1938 onward to big Opel Blitz trucks had been powered by the same basic 3.6 L engine used in the Admiral. To meet the growing demands of wartime, 3 short tons (2.7 t) trucks of Opel design were built under license by Daimler-Benz at the former Benz factory at Mannheim.

One of the most versatile small German military vehicles, the Kettenkrad, a curious but useful blend of tractor and motorcycle, was powered with a 1.4 L Olympia four-cylinder engine. Produced by NSU, it had motorcycle-type front-wheel steering for gentle turns and negotiated tight corners with brakes on the propelling caterpillar tracks. The Kettenkrad towed antitank guns and transported troops and signal gear in several theater of war. NSU continued to make it after the war for use in mines and forests. It was one of the few vehicles that could do jobs formerly performed by horses for which, owing to the shortage of oats, there was even less fuel available than for motor vehicles.

As the war progressed, military authorities placed greater stress on the development of air-cooled engines, which they felt had more immunity to damage from weather, shellfire and misuse. To meet this demand, Opel engineers developed an unusual variation on normal cooling for the 3.6 L truck engine. It was called «air-oil cooling,» and used engine oil to take heat away from the jackets around the cylinder barrels. The heads were directly cooled by air, there being three separate aluminum finned heads, each serving two cylinders. Of this interesting engine, which developed 72 hp (54 kW/73 PS) at 3000 rpm on 74-octane fuel, only three examples were built.

Other special jobs were undertaken at the Rüsselsheim factory. One that was too exotic to be typical was the construction of an intercooler for the supercharger of the famous Junkers Juno aircraft engine. Special methods had to be developed to fabricate this vital assembly from very thin sheets of aluminum. With work like this going on, Germany’s enemies naturally took note of the various Opel plants and, starting in August 1944, began visiting them by air. The resulting devastation was a tragic echo of the effects of the fire of exactly 33 years earlier. Destruction was heavy at both Rüsselsheim and Brandenburg from the attacks by Allied bombers. Never was the outlook more bleak at Adam Opel AG than in the first months of 1945.

Opel had been transformed and rebuilt before. There was very little, actually, beyond the determination of the men and women who believed in the power of the Opel idea and the 83 years over which it had been created. Many of the tools with which they once had worked were gone. The Brandenburg truck plant fell into the Russian Zone of a divided post-war Germany. It did not stay there long. All the machinery and equipment — right down to the window frames and bathroom fixtures — was dismantled and shipped to a site near the Ural mountains.

Cars as well as truck production lines were lost by Opel. As reparations for war destruction, under plans of the Allied Forces, the Soviet Union asked the Allied Military Government for the tools, jigs, dies, fixtures, and drawings for the Kadett. This, they said, they would use to begin auto production at an Opel subsidiary in Russian-occupied Leipzig. The equipment was duly delivered to the Soviets in June 1946, and that was the last Opel was to see of it — but not of the Kadett.

Just a year later a new Soviet car, the Moskvitch 400, rolled off a Moscow assembly line. It was the Opel Kadett in every detail; only the name was changed. By late 1950, the Russians were exporting these Kremlin Kadetts to Belgium, stressing in their promotion that spare parts could easily be obtained from Germany. Not until 1959 was a Moskovitch model introduced that bore no trace of Opel engineering. And by that time, Opel was just about ready to introduce a new Kadett of its own.

Only the strong resistance of the American government within whose zone of occupation Rüsselsheim was located, prevented the total dismantling of the entire Opel plant as reparations in Russia. GM had no say in these discussions and was not sure just what posture to take toward its sometime subsidiary. GM’s Alfred Sloan recalled:

«(Opel) had been seized by the German government soon after the war began. In 1942 our entire investment in Opel amounted to about $35 million, and under a ruling which the Treasury Department had made concerning assets in enemy hands, we were allowed to write off the investment against current taxable income. But this ruling did not end our interest in, or responsibility for, the Opel property. As the end of the war drew near, we were given to understand that we were still considered the owners of the Opel stock; and we were also given to understand that as the owners, we might be obliged to assume responsibility for the property.» It was a responsibility that Sloan and his associates weren’t at all sure was worth the risk in the chaos of postwar Europe.

One resource that did not appear on the books of General Motors or on the rolls of the occupying authorities was most responsible for the recovery of Opel in 1945: the extraordinary loyalty of its workers. They were not itinerant opportunists who had looked on their work at Rüsselsheim as just another job. They were men and women who had, for the most part, come from that immediate area, many from the quiet of the country, and had literally grown up with the Adam Opel AG More important to them than their own fates was that of Opel, for its collapse would mean the loss of the most important employer for the people of Rüsselsheim who were finding their way home from the chaos of war.

Just at war’s end a small skeleton crew began clearing the rubble from the plant. By May 1945, this work had advanced enough to allow the beginning of production of desperately needed Opel parts. Getting the materials for them was more dependent on barter and black markets than it was on normal sources of supply, which had all but ceased to exist.

Post World War II

After the end of the war, with the Brandenburg plant dismantled and transported to Russia, and 47% of the buildings in Rüsselsheim destroyed,[5] former Opel employees began to rebuild the Rüsselsheim plant.

In response to the pressing need for new trucks in a Germany struggling to rebuild, the American authorities governing Rüsselsheim granted permission to the plant to produce a 1.5 short tons (1.4 t) truck powered by the 2.5 L Kapitän engine. It was a minor miracle that even this was possible. By January 1946, the plant itself was ready to build trucks but many of the almost 12,000 parts needed to make each one were lacking. Before the big firms could begin, the small ones had to get started too. And illness and poor nutrition so crippled the staff of 6,000 workers that it was normal for 500 to be too sick to come to work and more than 400 to report sick during the day.

Overcoming these and other obstacles, Opel finally celebrated the completion of the first postwar Opel Blitz truck on July 15, 1946 in the presence of U.S. Army General Geoffrey Keyes and other local leaders and press reporters.[5] Priced at 6600RM, the truck was designed to run either on gasoline or on wood gas, for which a gas generator could be supplied. With a ceremonial bouquet of flowers flying from its rear-view mirror, this historic Opel Blitz left the factory gate bound for a buyer in Wiesbaden on July 26. Further production followed at a rate of 150 a month, and by the end of 1946 the production total was 839. Frigidaire refrigerators were also being made at Rüsselsheim, as were Olympia engines for the NSU Kettenkrad.

The next step for Opel was the resumption of passenger car production. It might have seemed easiest to bring back the Kapitan first, since its engine was already in production for the truck. But occupation regulations restricted German civilians to cars of 1.5 L or less, which made the Olympia the obvious candidate. Under Dr. Ing e.h. Karl Stief, who had been chief engineer at Opel since 1934, useful changes were made to this tough little car. The Dubonnet front suspension was replaced by a conventional coil-and-wishbone layout and the steering was correspondingly rearranged.

Announced in November 1947, production of the post-war Olympia, with austere painted hubcaps, began in December 1948 and allowed a modest return to export sales in that year. In October 1948, the Kapitän came back to the Opel lineup, unchanged except for such details as the shape of the headlights and improvements in the leaf springs and dampers. Prices in 1948 were 9950 DM for the Kapitan and 6785 DM for the Olympia (the Deutschmark having replaced the Reichsmark on June 20, 1948).

Other events which would powerfully affect Opel’s future were taking place in 1948. In February and March, a GM study group came to Germany to investigate every aspect of Europe’s economic situation and Opel’s special problems. On their return they submitted a report, on March 26, recommending that General Motors resume control of Opel. On April 5, however, GM’s financial policy committee concluded that «in view of the many uncertainties surrounding the operation of this property, the Corporation is not justified in resuming the responsibility for its operation at this time…» GM, it seemed, didn’t want Opel.

Second thoughts on this decision leaped immediately into the minds of such executives as Alfred P. Sloan Jr., and Charles Wilson, GM’s President. Later in April, Sloan sought to resolve the differences of opinion with a position paper that he hoped would set up conditions for resuming control of Opel that would put at rest the doubts of GM’s more conservative financial minds.

Sloan suggested that GM take the helm of Opel again for a two-year «probationary» period to see whether the economic conditions, then called «close to stagnation» in Germany, would improve. Sloan set other important goals: «General Motors should risk no additional capital in Opel. Credit facilities should be available. We should have complete freedom in personnel policies and administration. The products produced by Adam Opel AG should be solely within the jurisdiction of management, and if prices had to be approved by government authority, a reasonable return on the capital should be allowed.»

With these guidelines in mind, the Opel question was put again on May 3 to the GM financial policy committee, which then withdrew its objections to a return to Rüsselsheim. Many, many details still had to be worked out, both within GM and in the U.S. occupied zone of Germany, before this could actually occur. At last, the official word was released on November 1, 1948: GM resumed management control of Adam Opel AG Edward W. Zdunek, formerly regional manager for Europe of General Motors Overseas Operations Division, was named managing director.

The appointment of Zdunek to this post was a move of special significance. An experienced motor industry executive, he was not merely liked but indeed loved by those who worked for him. The sensitive hand of Ed Zdunek was the perfect choice to guide the fragile Opel ship through the roiling waters of postwar Germany. He continued in that critical position until 1961.

Changes in the Opel cars under GM’s management didn’t appear until January 1950, when a face-lifted Olympia was introduced. Front and rear fenders were elongated and a heavy horizontal chrome grille was added. A retrograde step was the replacement of the four-speed gearbox with a three-speed unit, with a column shift lever. Engine tuning emphasized high torque at low engine speeds so the extra ratio wasn’t too sorely missed. The cabrio-coach model was returned to the Olympia range and a kombi was also offered, built by Karosserie Miesen. In February 1951, in preparation for the first postwar automobile show in Germany, the Olympia was dressed up further with a trunk compartment that enclosed the spare tire and 15 in (38 cm) wheels instead of 16 in (41 cm) wheels and tires. With minor further changes, this model lasted to March 1953.

Detail improvements, such as a new dashboard and a steering column shift, embellished the Kapitän line in May 1950. Bigger changes were saved for March 1951, to anticipate the opening of the doors of the Frankfurt show on April 19 for an 11-day run. Its earlier fast-back style was modified to a mild notch-back contour, and a new horizontal grille — not the prettiest in Opel history — dominated the frontal view. With a higher compression ratio (still only 6.25:1), engine power was 58 bhp (43 kW/59 PS) at 3700 rpm and top speed was 80 mph (130 km/h). Output increased to 60 bhp (45 kW/61 PS) during the further life of this model, which ended in July 1953.

More or less by ‘fait accompli’, in the absence of the tools to build the Kadett, Opel found itself in the middle-priced bracket in Germany’s postwar auto market, sandwiched between VW and Mercedes-Benz. This was a position that was not unfamiliar to both GM and Opel, and one in which it did amazingly well. In 1953, output rose above 100,000 units for the first time since the war, and in 1954, when the sprawling plant by the Main River was considered completely rebuilt, 24,270 were employed at Adam Opel AG and 167,650 vehicles were built—an all-time high. Opel had looked the spectre of oblivion in the eye and come back stronger than ever.

Opel restructuring (2009-present)

In early 2009, the future of GM’s German brand, Opel was thrown into uncertainty as the global financial crisis drove GM towards bankruptcy. New Opel (Opel plus Vauxhall, minus Saab),[6] was controlled by a trustee, with a controlling board made up of representatives from GM, employees and the German Government; the company was subject to a bidding process.

The deal, underwritten by the German Government, was negotiated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. GM was expected to keep a 35% minority stake in the new company,[7][8] Opel staff 10%,[9] with a plan which proposed to sell the majority of the business to one of two partners:

  • FIAT
  • A consortium majority-owned by a Sberbank of Russia (35%), Magna International of Canada (20%), and Opel employees (10%)

The new company would not be allowed to sell Opel cars in the U.S. (permanently) and China (at least temporarily) markets, which are the two biggest markets in the world.[10]

On June 1, 2009, GM filed for bankruptcy in a court in New York. As the sale of Opel had been negotiated two days before, with the preferred bidder the Magna consortia, both companies were in effect ring-fenced from any GM asset liquidation.[11][12][13][14] If Opel needed to reduce production of its own core models then any unused capacity could be used to manufacture vehicles for other carmakers. Inside sources close to Magna revealed that some of the possible third party carmakers include Ford and PSA Peugeot Citroen.[15]

GM announced that final bids were to be placed with them by July 20, which resulted in three bidders:[16]

  • Magna, still backed by Sberbank, had made a last-minute change to its bid in order to placate concerns about its Russian partner’s influence. This would result in both partners having a 27.5% share in the new company, with GM retaining 35%.
  • Belgian-based investor RHJ International
  • China’s Beijing Automotive Industries — disqualified over «intellectual property issues» a few days later[17]

Toward the end of August 2009, there were doubts over whether a sale of Opel would actually go ahead, though a German government official later revealed that talks were continuing.[18] This was followed by RHJ International raising its bid for Opel to €300m from €275m.[19]

On September 10, 2009, GM agreed to sell a 55% stake in Opel to the Magna group with the approval of the German government.[20] The agreement would have kept Opel a fully integrated part of GM’s global product development organisation. However, on 3 November 2009 the GM board called off the Magna deal after coming to the conclusion that Opel was crucial to GM’s global strategy.[21]

With ongoing restructuring plans Opel announced the closure of its Antwerp plant in Belgium from January 2011 onwards.

Adam Opel AG today

Opel Astra J (since 2009)

Opel is one of the most traditional car manufacturers in Germany, and one of Europe’s largest automakers. The company operates 11 vehicle, powertrain, and component plants and three development centers in six countries, and employs around 40,000 people (as of December 2010). Many additional jobs are provided by some 6,600 independent sales and service outlets as a direct result of their business with the automaker. Opel and its sister brand in the U.K., Vauxhall, sell vehicles in more than 40 markets worldwide. The company’s factory in Rüsselsheim has been transformed to one of the most modern plants in the world for €750 million and started production in 2002. The capacity is around 180,000 vehicles a year. Other Opel plants are in Bochum, Eisenach, and Kaiserslautern, Germany; St. Petersburg, Russia; Vienna/Aspern, Austria; Szentgotthard, Hungary; Zaragoza, Spain and Gliwice, Poland. Opel cars are also made in Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port and Luton plant in the UK. The Dudenhofen Test Center is located near the Rüsselsheim headquarters.

Also located in Rüsselsheim is the International Technical Development Center (ITDC) and the Opel Design Center. Around 6,300 people are responsible for the development and design of Opel vehicles. All in all, Opel plays an enormously important role in the global GM corporate group as it has for instance developed and engineered the Epsilon (I) platform, Epsilon II platform, Delta (I) platform, Gamma platform and played an important role in the development of especially the higher-end, more-refined versions of the Delta II platform and the Gamma II platform. In addition, the company is developing new manufacturing equipment for the global GM auto production.

So Opel is in most cases fully responsible for all the car architectures and technologies up to the Opel Insignia/Buick Regal/Buick LaCrosse. In particular, all the future-oriented, modern, full-efficient GM architectures for more compact vehicles are developed by Opel in Rüsselsheim.

Even the idea and concept behind the Chevrolet Volt/Opel Ampera is rooted in Opel/Germany with Frank Weber, the former «Global Vehicle Line Executive and Global Chief Engineer electric vehicle development» and therefore leader of the Volt-development, being originally an Opel-employee who was moved to the USA in order to advance the development of this prestigious, revolutionary concept in GM’s home country instead of the German outpost that is Opel. In 2009, Weber returned during the reorganization of the Opel leadership to Opel as «Vice President Planning and Commercial Vehicle Operations» for the company.[22]

Opel Meriva B (since 2010)

Opel established Opel Performance Center GmbH (OPC) in 1997, which is responsible for the development of high-performance cars of Opel.

Opel Special Vehicles GmbH (OSV) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Adam Opel AG which produces special series and undertakes vehicle modifications. Together with the ITDC, OSV developed the environmentally friendly and cost-CNG-drive concept based on natural gas (Compressed Natural Gas) and was first implemented on the Opel Zafira 1.6 CNG.

In 2011, Opel sold over 1,18 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Europe, achieving a market share of 6.2%. In Germany, Opel regained the number two position with a market share of 7.6%. It offers International and Diplomat Sales (IDS) to customers in international organizations, military, and diplomatic service.

Starting this year, the company will begin selling vehicles in China, Chile and Israel. In late 2011, Opel will also sell vehicles in South Africa, Argentinia and the Middle East.

Opel employees and production in Europe

From April 1, 2011, Karl-Friedrich Stracke will be CEO of Adam Opel AG.

[Rüsselsheim, Germany

Production site Production since Products Comments Employees
Opel-factories (Germany)
1898
  • Insignia (Sedan, Hatchback and Sports Tourer)
  • Astra (5-door)
 Int.Technical Development Center (ITDC)
Headquarters of Adam Opel AG 		15.600
Bochum, Germany 1962
  • Zafira
 4.800
Kaiserslautern, Germany 1966
  • Components
  • Engines
 3.100
Eisenach, Germany 1990
  • Corsa (3-door)
 1.700
Opel-factories (Europe)
Luton, Great Britain 1905
  • Vivaro
 Headquarters of Vauxhall Motors 1.284
Ellesmere Port, Great Britain 1962
  • Astra (5-door, Sports Tourer)
 2.117
Zaragoza, Spain 1982
  • Corsa (3-door, 5-door)
  • Meriva
 5.670
St. Petersburg, Russia 2008
  • Antara
  • Astra (5-door)
 1.200
Gliwice, Poland 1998
  • Astra (5-door)
 3.000
Aspern, Austria 1982
  • Engines
  • Transmissions
 1.800
St. Gotthard, Hungary 1990
  • Engines
  • Transmissions
 620
Production of related companies
Renault/SOVAB (Societé des Véhicules Automobiles de Batilly)
Batilly, Dept. Meurthe-et-Moselle, France 		1980
  • Movano
Magyar Suzuki Corp.
Esztergom, Hungary 		1991
  • Agila
 6.300
Tofaş
Bursa, Turkey 		1968
  • Combo
 8.200

European Car of the Year

Opel has produced three winners of the European Car of the Year award.

  • 1985 — Opel Kadett E
  • 1987 — Opel Omega A
  • 2009 — Opel Insignia

Other Opel models have come in either second or third in the contest.

  • 1980 — Opel Kadett D
  • 1982 — Opel Ascona C
  • 1989 — Opel Vectra A
  • 1991 — Opel Calibra
  • 1992 — Opel Astra A
  • 1995 — Opel Omega B
  • 1999 — Opel Astra B
  • 2000 — Opel Zafira A
  • 2007 — Opel Corsa D
  • 2010 — Opel Astra J

History of the logo

Zeppelin 1937 logo

The first Opel logo after the founding of the company consisted of the squiggly letters A and O, the initials of Adam Opel. The A was in bronze, the O kept in red.

Starting in 1886, was then seen, inter alia, the goddess of Victory Victoria and a cyclist on the logo. This image was surrounded by the inscription «Victoria Blitz», the name of one of the first Opel bicycles. From 1909, the name became the logo. A spirited Opel name in gold adorned the motorcycles and cars. A year later, the logo was again changed. From now on, we saw a blue, surrounded by laurels eye, which contained the words «Opel» in capital letters (uppercase).

By 1935, they introduced a stylized Zeppelin, symbolizing the progress, surrounded by a yellow ring, which is supposed to represent a wheel. The Zeppelin also occurred as a hood ornament, for example at the Olympia. As of 1950, another logo was used, not found on the vehicles, but rather intended for the dealer organization. Another Opel logo was a white oval which was yellow on one half.

In the 1960s, they changed the Zeppelin increasingly to flash. Officially, the Lightning since 1963, the logo of Opel. In 1970, the logo of the dealer organization was again changed to see the flash with a ring on a yellow rectangle to see the lettering below the «Opel» was about. The official logo was surrounded by a black rectangle, and found primarily on printed materials used. In 1987, the Opel logo then modernized.

On the vehicles himself had since the 1940s, however, always see only the Opel logo without typography, again and again in different materials (in shape or size characters), and proportions, even at the same time produced models. The production of a single CI is the longest time at Opel have not been consistently followed.

The 2007 study presented shows the current GTC Concept Opel logo was engraved into the top ring of the lettering on «Opel». The Insignia has a single model since 2008 also has this logo.

Motorsport

Opel has announced that it plans to return to the DTM (German Touring Car Masters) series in 2012.

Clubs with the name Opel

The SC Opel Rüsselsheim is a soccer club with about 450 members from Rüsselsheim, which combines a checkered history with the company Opel. The RV 1888 Opel Rüsselsheim is a cycling club.

Marketing

Opel is set to launch new ad campaigns with the Eurovision Song Contest Winner 2010 Lena Meyer-Landrut [23] of Germany and with singer/songwriter Katie Melua[24] of Georgia.

Slogans

Opel’s corporate tagline is Wir leben Autos, meaning “We live cars”. The German-language tagline is used in many European countries.[25]

What “Wir Leben Autos” means

The «Wir» (We) stands for the excitement and affirmative, positive attitude of the employees and dealers – a great starting point for the development of intelligent, surprising and innovative products they supply to their customers.

The word «leben» (live) embodies the high level of energy at Opel. It is a vitality which anyone who has experienced an Opel can feel through the variety of practical functions, exciting innovations and fascinating, dynamic design.

Finally, the «Autos» (cars) have become an essential part of their lives. They combine their personal experiences with that of their customers in order to make their daily mobility simpler and more comfortable.

Marketing with fictitious band

Opel operates one of the first car manufacturer «viral marketing» with the fictional band the C.M.O.N.S. The band consists of the characters White, Red and Blue (male), and Moo and Cherri (female). They were designed by the German artist living in Barcelona, Boris Hoppek. The music is from the (real existing) band, The Outcomes.

On the C.M.O.N.S. drew attention, inter alia, poster campaigns and contributions in online communities like YouTube and MySpace. Particularly noteworthy is the collaboration with MTV. Meanwhile, Opel use the C.M.O.N.S. directly for the Corsa publicity. Opel was the sponsor of the MTV Europe Music Awards 2006, 2 November 2006 and the Corsa was the «official car» of the event.

Model names

From the beginning of production until 1930, the Opel models usually carried model-numbers such as 4 / 12 hp. The number before the slash was the tax horsepower, the number behind it was the actual performance in horsepower. Exceptions were the first Opel, which bore the name Patent Motor Car «System Lutzman», and the Opel Regent, from 1928 — 25 vehicles were produced.

This quite complicated system was replaced after the takeover by General Motors in 1931 by the given engine displacement (for example, 1.2 liters), which was kept only until 1937. An exception here was the Opel P4, whose name indicates it as a four-seater car . The name of the 1935 produced Opel Olympia was chosen in view of the Olympic Summer Games in 1936 and taken over by the following models.

From the late 1930s to the 1980s, terms from the German Navy (Captain, Admiral, Cadet), and from other official sectors (Diplomat, Senator) were often used as model names, from the late 1980s, the design names changed to ones ending in «A». The last series to be renamed was the Opel Kadett, which was renamed the Opel Astra taking the name that had been used on its English (Vauxhall) sister model since the Kadett D (1979–1984). The only exception to this naming was the built under license Opel Monterey. Similarly, the model names of the Transporter models ending with «O» (Combo, Vivaro, Movano, former Campo). Now models which do not have names ending in «A» have been re-introduced, such as the Opel Signum, Opel Speedster, even if many «A» models remain in production to date.

Models for other countries

Many cars sold by GM worldwide are Opel engineered vehicles, including such models as the Astra, Corsa, Insignia and Zafira. Opel models are also sold under other GM brand names, such as Vauxhall in the UK, Buick in China and North America and Chevrolet in Latin America. Its Zafira people carrier was sold in Australia badged as a Holden Zafira. The Opel Blazer was a rebadged Chevrolet Blazer especially for Indonesia. The Opel Calais was a rebadged Holden Commodore especially for Malaysia. The Opel Corsa Utility was a rebadged Chevrolet Montana for South Africa only, but in 2010 this model was rebadged to Chevrolet Corsa Utility.

Opel in the United States

Opels appeared under their own name in the U.S. from 1958-1975, when they were sold through Buick dealers as captive imports. The best-selling Opel models in the U.S. were the 1964–1972 Opel Kadett, the 1971–1975 Opel Manta, and the now-classic 1968–1973 Opel GT.[26][27] (The name «Opel» was also applied from 1976 to 1980 on vehicles manufactured by Isuzu (similar to the «Isuzu I-mark»), but mechanically those were entirely different cars).
However, there are and have been lots of cars sold in the U.S. that are based on Opel models or on platforms developed by Opel:

Buick Regal (5th generation, 2009–present)

The Buick Regal is more or less a rebadged Insignia. The main differences are the modified radiator grill and the altered color of the passenger compartment illumination (blue instead of red). The Regal GS equals to the Opel Insignia OPC.
Currently, the Regal is assembled alongside the Opel Insignia at the Opel plant in Rüsselsheim, Germany with the plan to also build it at the GM plant in Oshawa, Canada from the first quarter of 2011.

Opel Insignia OPC touring

Opel Insignia OPC

2011 Buick Regal GS 2 -- 2010 DC

Buick Regal GS Concept

Saturn Astra (2008-2009)

The Astra H was sold in the U.S. as the Saturn Astra for model years 2008 to 2009.

Opel Astra H 1.6 Twinport front 20100509

Opel Astra H 5-door

2008 Saturn Astra 3-door

Saturn Astra XR 3-door

Saturn Aura (2008-2009)

The Saturn Aura was an, especially in the interior, quite heavily modified version of the Opel Vectra C.

Opel Vectra C 2.2 Direkt front

Opel Vectra C (facelifted sedan)

Saturn Aura XE

Saturn Aura XE

Opel in Australia

Many Opel-models or models based on Opel architectures have been sold in Australia under the brand name of Holden. Currently, for the first time ever, it is planned that the brand Opel will be introduced to Australia in 2012.[28][29]

Holden Barina (1994-2005)

Two of the generations of the Holden Barina were essentially rebadged Opel Corsas. However, the first, the second and the most recent fifth generation were — compared to the rebadged Opel models — cheaper, lower-end Suzuki Cultus‘s (1st and 2nd Barina-generation) and Daewoo Kalos. As a result, the initial fifth generation (2005–2008) only scored 2 out of 5 stars in the ANCAP rating whilst the Opel-based predecessor scored 4 out of 5.

3rd generation (1994-2001)

This vehicle is a rebadged Opel Corsa B.

Corsa B2

Opel Corsa B

1998-2001 Holden SB Barina City 3-door hatchback 01

1998–2001 Holden SB Barina City 3-door hatchback.

4th generation (2001-2005)

This vehicle is a rebadged Opel Corsa C.

Opel Corsa front 20080111

Opel Corsa C

2003 Holden XC Barina (MY2003) SXi 3-door hatchback 01

2003 Holden XC Barina SXi 3-door

Opel in South Africa

Opel were distributed via Delta Motors until 2003. They sold the Opel Kadett, Opel Corsa, Opel Ascona and Opel Senator. The current Opel range in South Africa comprises the Opel Corsa and Opel Astra (Opel Astra J, sold only as a five-door). No diesel versions are offered. The Opel Insignia is currently unavailable, and the Opel Vectra was never offered there due to a lack of popularity for midsize cars in South Africa.

Model lineup

Passenger Cars

Opel Agila Opel Ampera Opel Antara Opel Astra Opel Corsa Opel Insignia Opel Meriva Opel Zafira
2000–present 2011–present 2006–present 1991–present 1982–present 2008–present 2002–present 1999–present
  • City car
  • mid-size car
  • Compact crossover SUV
  • 3-door hatchback
  • 5-door hatchback
  • 5-door estate
  • 3-door hatchback
  • 5-door hatchback
  • 4-door sedan
  • 5-door hatchback
  • 5-door station wagon
  • Mini MPV
  • Compact MPV
Novo agila 1.jpg Opel Ampera.JPG Antaraopel.JPG Neues astra 1.jpg Corsa D.jpg Insignia000.JPG Opel Meriva B 1.3 CDTI Edition front 20100722.jpg Zafirona b.JPG

Commercial vehicles

Opel Combo Opel Vivaro Opel Movano
1994–present 2001–present 1998–present
  • Panel van
  • Van, Minibus
  • Panel van
ComboopelB.JPG 7ba7VIVARO 27.JPG Opel Movano B front 20100705.jpg

OPC models

Opel Astra OPC Opel Corsa OPC Opel Insignia OPC
1999–present 2007–present 2009–present
  • 3-door hatchback
  • 3-door hatchback
  • 4-door sedan
  • 5-door hatchback
  • 5-door station wagon
Opel astra H 3T opc.jpg Opel corsa 3T opc.jpg Opel insignia 4T opc.jpg

Timeline

  • 1862 — Adam Opel founded Opel.[2]
  • 1899 — First Opel automobile patent: reverse gear in patented motor car, Lutzmann system.
  • 1909 — Opel makes the automobile affordable with the «Doctor’s Car», which is sold at half the price (3,950 marks) of competitors’ luxury models.
  • 1910 — Introduction of the modular construction system at Opel. Now, prefabricated car bodies can be combined with different engines and chassis.
  • 1924 — Opel is the first German manufacturer to adopt assembly-line manufacturing methods that enable volume production.
  • 1928 — Opel builds RAK 1 and RAK 2. RAK 2 has 24 solid fuel rockets that catapult the vehicle to 238 km/h (148 mph), setting a new world record.
  • 1929 — Adam Opel AG in Rüsselsheim, Germany, is acquired.
  • 1931 — Opel is the first manufacturer to set up a customer service school.
  • 1935 — Opel Olympia is the first German large-volume vehicle with self-bearing whole-steel body.
  • 1940 — Opel production is suspended through the war years.
  • 1950 — The Opel plant in Rüsselsheim is completely rebuilt.
  • 1962 — Inauguration of the second Opel plant in Bochum, Germany.
  • 1965 — The Opel Experimental GT is the first concept car of a European automobile manufacturer and the first concept car to go into production (in 1968).
  • 1967 — Inauguration of the Opel Belgium plant in Antwerp.
  • 1976 — Opel patent: cavity in piston head reduces noise in diesel engines.
  • 1982 — New assembly plant opens in Zaragoza, Spain, to produce the Opel Corsa.
  • 1984 — The Kadett GSi is the most streamlined car in its class, at 0.30 cd.
  • 1989 — Opel is the first European manufacturer to offer catalytic converters on all gasoline models.
  • 1992 — New Opel plant opens in Eisenach, Germany.
  • 1993 — Opel patent: a «metal protection sheet» integrated into the backrest of the seats forms a rigid barrier.
  • 1994 — Opel patent: special process for separation of oil-in-water emulsions.
  • 1995 — Corsa Eco3 is the first ready-to-drive 3-liter per 100 km car in the world.
  • 1996 — New engine plant in Kaiserslautern, Germany, begins production. Opel and Renault sign cooperation agreement in light commercial vehicle sector.
  • 1998 — Inauguration of new Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim. Inauguration of new Opel plant in Gliwice, Poland.
  • 1999 — Opel celebrates 100 years of car production on January 21. Flex7 seating system in the Opel Zafira.
  • 2002 — Production of new Vectra starts at Opel’s state-of-the-art facility in Rüsselsheim, Germany.
  • 2007 — Opel introduces low-emission ecoFlex variants of its volume model lines. Opel engineers developing mechatronic chassis, that makes driving safer and more comfortable.
  • 2008 — Opel Eye is introduced in Opel Insignia.
  • 2009 — Opel Ampera is unveiled at Geneva Motor Show.

See also

  • Adam Opel
  • Irmscher
  • Opel Performance Center
  • Steinmetz Opel Tuning
  • Vauxhall Motors
  • VXR
  • List of German cars

Notes

  1. ↑ http://media.opel.com/content/media/intl/en/news/news_detail.brand_opel.html/content/Pages/news/intl/en/2011/OPEL/01_05_opel_stock_corporation
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 «Opel Media — Europe — Company». Media.opel.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-21.
  3. ↑ «Informationen zu Opel». Autoscout24.de. Retrieved on 2010-10-01.
  4. ↑ «Lutzmann». Cartype. Retrieved on 2009-06-13.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 «Das Alte stürzt…Es aendert sich die Zeit……und neues Leben blüht aus den Ruinen», Das Auto 1: Seite 2–3. December 1946.
  6. ↑ «DETNEWS | Weblogs | Autos Blog». Apps.detnews.com (2009-06-14). Retrieved on 2009-06-28.
  7. ↑ «Germany picks Magna to save Opel», BBC News (May 30, 2009).
  8. ↑ Weber, Tim (May 30, 2009). «Analysis: Opel’s survival still at stake», BBC News.
  9. ↑ «Hintergrund: So geht es weiter mit Opel». tagesschau.de. Retrieved on 2010-04-03.[dead link]
  10. ↑ «Magna says can’t sell Opel cars in U.S., China», Reuters (06-02-2009).
  11. ↑
    Sandler, Linda; Chris Scinta, Bob Van Voris & Jeff Green (June 1, 2009). «GM Files Bankruptcy to Spin Off More Competitive Firm (Update4)», Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg LP. Retrieved on June 1, 2009.
  12. ↑ Sanger, David E.; Jeff Zeleny & Bill Vlasic (May 31, 2009). «G.M. to Seek Bankruptcy and a New Start: A Risky Bet to Save an Icon of American Capitalism url = http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/business/01auto.html», New York Times. Retrieved on June 1, 2009.
  13. ↑ Sanger, David E. (May 31, 2009). «G.M. to Seek Bankruptcy and a New Start», New York Times. Retrieved on June 1, 2009.
  14. ↑ Maynard, Micheline (May 29, 2009). «After 93 Years, G.M. Shares Go Out on a Low Note», New York Times. Retrieved on June 1, 2009.
  15. ↑ Weber, Jeremy (2009-05-17). «Report: Magna considers using Opel to build cars for other brands». MotorAuthority. Retrieved on 2009-10-25.
  16. ↑ «GM receives three bids for Opel», BBC News (2009-07-20). Retrieved on 2009-07-20.
  17. ↑ «Beijing Auto fails in bid for GM’s Opel». Chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved on 2009-10-25.
  18. ↑ GM ‘still intends to sell Opel’ BBC News. 25 August 2009
  19. ↑ RHJ raises bid for carmaker Opel BBC News. 2 September 2009
  20. ↑ «Opel and Vauxhall to go to Magna», BBC News (2009-09-10). Retrieved on 2009-09-10.
  21. ↑ Vlasic, Bill (November 3, 2009). «G.M. Decides to Keep Opel, Its European Unit», New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-11-03.
  22. ↑ «Frank Weber wird Chef der Opel-Produktplanung [Autokiste]». Autokiste.de (2009-11-27). Retrieved on 2010-10-01.
  23. ↑ «Opel Media — Europe — News». Media.opel.com (2010-09-04). Retrieved on 2010-11-17.
  24. ↑ «Opel Media — Europe — News». Media.opel.com (2010-11-15). Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  25. ↑ «Opel Vice President Alain Visser: Cars are our passion». Iaa.opel.info (2009-09-15). Retrieved on 2010-04-03.
  26. ↑ «Opel Club». Opel Club. Retrieved on 2010-10-01.
  27. ↑ «Opel GT». Opel GT. Retrieved on 2010-10-01.
  28. ↑ «German article from heise online reporting that Opel is going to enter outer-european markets». Heise.de. Retrieved on 2010-10-01.
  29. ↑ GoAutoMedia (2010-09-14). «Opel 2011 Astra — Holden eyes Opel». GoAuto. Retrieved on 2010-10-01.

External links

Commons-logo.png

Opel at the Open Directory Project

Official sites

  • Opel International official corporate website
  • Opel Germany
  • Opel Media Site
  • Opel Connect – Social Media Hub

Video clips

  • Opel TV
  • Opel YouTube channel
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General Motors
GM lists

GM factories · GM platforms · GM engines · GM transmissions · GM vehicles by brand

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operating groups /
joint ventures

ACDelco · Ally (9.9%) · CAMI Automotive · Coskata, Inc. · DMAX (engines) (50%) · FAW-GM (50%) · GM Financial · GM Performance Division · GM Powertrain Europe ·  · General Motors América do Sul · General Motors Canada · General Motors de Mexico · General Motors do Brasil · General Motors India · General Motors Research Laboratories · General Motors South Africa · General Motors Ventures · Global Hybrid Cooperation · GM Goodwrench · GM Service and Parts Operations · Holden · Holden New Zealand · Holden Special Vehicles · HRL Laboratories (50%) · Isuzu Motors Polska · OnStar · Opel · Opel Performance Center · Shanghai GM · SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile · Vauxhall Motors

Former divisions
and joint ventures

Allison Engine Company (1929–1995) · Allison Transmission (1929–2007) · Atlantic Aircraft · Dayton-Wright Company (1919–1923) · Delco Electronics · Delphi Automotive Systems (1994-1999) · Detroit Diesel (1938–1988) · DirecTV (1994–2003) · Electro-Motive Diesel (1930–2004) · Electronic Data Systems (1984–1996) · Euclid Trucks (1953–1968) · Fisher Body · Fleetwood Metal Body · Frigidaire (1919–1980) · General Motors Europe AG (1986–2010) · General Motors Diesel Division (1938–1987) · General Motors Diesel (1949–1969) · Ghandhara Industries (1953–1963) · GM Defense (1950–2003) · GMAC Real Estate(1998-2008) · GM Truck & Bus Group (1943–1981) · GMC Heavy Trucks · Hughes Aircraft (1985–1997) · Hughes Electronics (1985–1997) · Hughes Network Systems (1987–2003) · HughesNet (DirecWay/DirecPC) (1996–2003) · Hummer (1998–2010) · Kettering University · National City Lines · New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI; 1984–2009) · New Venture Gear (36%, 1990–2002) · North American Aviation (1933–1948) · Nuvell Financial Services (1997–2008) · PanAmSat (1995–2003) · Remy Electric (1918–1994) · Rochester Products Division · Terex · Saturn Corporation (1985–2010) · Terminal Taxi Cab · United Australian Automobile Industries (UAAI; 1989–1996) · Winton Motor Carriage Company · Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company (1925–1943)

v · d · e

Opel — a marque of General Motors Company
General Motors
marques & companies

Buick • Cadillac • Chevrolet • GMC • Holden • Holden Special Vehicles • Opel • Opel Performance Center • Vauxhall • VXR
subsidiaries

Opel Eisenach GmbH • Opel Special Vehicles GmbH • Opel Performance Center GmbH
see also

list of GM factories • list of GM platforms • list of GM engines
current Opel
passenger car range

Agila • Ampera • Antara • Astra • Corsa • Insignia • Meriva • Zafira
current Opel
Commercial Vehicles range

Combo • Vivaro • Movano
Historic (pre-WWII)

Admiral (1937-’39) • Blitz • Doktorwagen • Kadett (1937-’40) • Kapitän (1938-’40) • 4 PS «Laubfrosch» • Lutzmann • Olympia (pre-WWII) • P4 • RAK2 • Super Six
Historic (post-WWII)

Admiral (1964-’77) • Ascona • Calibra • Campo • Commodore • Diplomat • Frontera • GT • Kadett-A (1962-’92) • Kapitän (1948-’70) • Manta • Monterey • Monza • Olympia (post-WWII) • Omega • Rekord • Senator • Sintra • Signum • Speedster • Vectra
motor racing cars

rally cars: Ascona A • Astra F • Corsa A • Corsa C • Kadett B • Kadett C • Kadett E • Manta B • DTM road race cars: Astra G • Calibra A • Vectra C
Opel concept cars

Frogster • Flextreme • GTC • Trixx

founder: Adam Opel • Opel corporate website • A marque of General Motors Company
v · d · e Opel road car timeline, 1947–1970s next »
Type 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Small family car Kadett A Kadett B Kadett C
Olympia Olympia Rekord Olympia A
Large family car Rekord PI Rekord PII Ascona A Ascona B
Executive car Rekord A Rekord B Rekord C Rekord D Rekord E
Kapitän Kapitän Kapitän PI / PII Commodore A Commodore B Commodore C
Luxury car Kapitän A / Admiral A / Diplomat A Kapitän B / Admiral B / Diplomat B Senator / Monza
Coupé / Roadster GT
Manta A Manta B
v · d · e « previous — Opel road car timeline, 1980s–present
Type 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
City car Agila A Agila B
Supermini Corsa A Corsa B Corsa C Corsa D
Compact car Kadett C Kadett D Kadett E Astra F Astra G Astra H Astra J
Large family car Ascona B Ascona C Vectra A Vectra B Vectra C
Rekord E / Commodore C Omega A Omega B Signum Insignia
Executive car Senator A / Monza Senator B
Sports car Tigra A Tigra TwinTop B
Manta B Calibra Speedster GT (Roadster)
Mini MPV Meriva A Meriva B
Compact MPV Zafira A Zafira B
Zafira Tourer C
Large MPV Sintra
SUV Frontera A Frontera B Mokka
Monterey Antara
LCV Kadett Combo Combo B Combo C Combo D
Arena Vivaro
Movano A Movano B
v · d · e

Truck Manufacturers

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Early UK & Ireland Truck Builders
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Modern UK & Ireland Truck Builders
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(Factories in the UK)

AWD/Bedford · Dennison (Ireland) · (DAF) · Dennis Eagle · Dodge · ERF · Foden · Ford of Britain Ford Trucks/(Iveco-Ford) · Hino(Ireland) · Leyland Daf & Leyland Trucks (Paccar) · Multidrive · Scammell · (Volvo) · Unipower/Alvis-Unipower
European manufacturers

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North American Manufacturers

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China

Anhui Jianghuai  · BeiBen · Brilliance Auto · Chang’an Ford · Chang’an Suzuki · Changfeng Automobile · Chengdu FAW · Chery Automobile · CNHTG · Chongqing · Chongqing Lokon · Dayun Light Truck · Dayun Motor · Dongfeng · Dongfeng Liuzhou · Dongfeng Nissan-Diesel Company · FAW-GM · FAW Jie Fang · FAW Jilin · Foday Auto · Foton · Gonow · Great Wall Motor · Guangqi Hino Motors · Guangqi Toyota Automobile · Guangzhou · Hafei Motor · Hanyang · Heibao · HuaYang · Jiefang · JinBei · Jinhua Youngman Vehicle · Liaoning Shuguang · Lifan Group · Maxus · Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation · NAVECO · Polarsun Automobile · Qingling Motors · Qinhuangdao Jincheng · SAIC-IVECO Hongyan · Sanjiang Renault Automobile · Shaanxi · Shanghai GM · Shanghai Volkswagen · Shanghai-Huizhong · Shijiazhuang Shuanghuan Automobile Co · Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor · Sichuan Tengzhong · Sinotruk · Soar Automotive · Wanshan Special Vehicle · Wuhu FAW Yangzi · Wuling · Wuzheng · Xinkai Auto · Youngman-MAN · YTO · Yunnan Lifan Junma Vehicle · ZhangJianGang JiangNan · Zhejiang Jonway Automobile · Zhongxing(China)
Rest of Asian & Former Soviet Union
Manufacturers

Ashok Leyland(India) · Asia Motor Works · BelAZ · BEML · Daewoo(Korea) · Daimler Hero(India) · Eicher Motors(India) · Force Motors · GAZ · Hero(India) · Hino(Japan) · Hyundai · Industrija Motornih Vozil(Slovenia) · Inokom(Malaysia) · Isuzu(Japan) · Kamaz · KAZ · Kia · KrAZ · Master Motors · MAZ · Mitsubishi Fuso(Japan) · NefAZ · Otokar · Perkasa(Indonesia) · Sungri(Korea) · Swaraj Mazda · Tata(India) · Tata Daewoo(India) · Tatra Vectra · UD Nissan Diesel(Japan) · Ural(Russia) · Zastava · ZiL(Russia)
Africa & Middle East

BMC (Turkey) · GIAD Trucks (Sudan) · Truck-Makers Co.(SAMIL Truck) · Trucks and Bus Company(Libya) · Zamyad(Iran)
Specialist truck builders / Converter

AWD Engineering Limited and All Wheel Drive · American LaFrance(fire trucks) · Crane Carrier Co. · Dennis · Dennis Eagle · Faun · Ginaf · Kamag · Latil · MOL · Nicolas Tractomas · OAF · Oshkosh · Rotinoff · Schacht(USA) · Shelvoke & Drewry · Terberg · Titan · Unipower/Alvis-Unipower
Fuels

Bio fuel · Diesel · Ethanol · Kerosene · LPG · Paraffin · Petrol(Gasoline) · TVO (see also: AdBlue(DEF) & Catalytic converter for emission control )
Types of Internal combustion engine

Diesel engine · Hot Bulb Engine · Hybrid · Petrol engine · Steam engine · TVO Engine · Two Stroke · Four stroke · Six stroke
Specialist trailer builders

Andover Trailers (UK) · Boalloy (UK) · Boden (UK) · Broshuis(Holland) · carrymore (UK) · Cometto (Italy) · Cranes Trailers / Crane-Fruehauf (UK) · Dennison (Ireland) · Dyson Trailers (UK) · Faymonville · Fruehauf Corporation (USA) · Fruehauf UK · Goldhofer (Germany) · Ifor Williams (UK) · Kamag (Germany) · King Trailers (UK) · M & G trailers ? · Montracon (UK) · Nicolas(Germany) · Nooteboom (Holland) · Scheuerle(Germany) · Taskers of Andover (UK) · Tii Group(Germany)
Truck types

articulated lorry · Breakdown · box van · cattle wagon · Concrete mixer · curtainsider · demountable body · flat bed · fridge van · Heavy Haulage · Low loader · Luton body · machinery transport · pantechnicon · Pick-up truck · Reefer · Road train/Longer Heavier Vehicle · Tanker truck · Tipper truck · Skip wagon · Special Purpose Truck

See also Heavy Haulage Contractors & List of Engine Manufacturers
for Off road dumper trucks see List of Construction Plant Manufacturers
Источник
Adam Opel AG

OPEL 2009 logo.png
Type Aktiengesellschaft
Founded January 21, 1862
Founder(s) Adam Opel
Headquarters Adam Opel Haus
Rüsselsheim, Germany
Number of locations 11 manufacturing facilities in 6 countries
Area served Europe, Middle East/Africa, Asia/Pacific
Key people
  • Walter G. Borst
    (Chairman)
  • Karl-Friedrich Stracke
    (CEO)
Industry Automotive
Products Automobiles
Engines
Production output 1,178,157 units (2010)
Services Financial services
Revenue (turnover) ▼ €11 billion (2010)
Employees 40,458 (2010)
Parent General Motors Company
Subsidiaries Opel Performance Center
Opel Special Vehicles
Website Opel.com

Opel’s main portal and site building in Rüsselsheim near the train station in front of the statue of the founder, Adam Opel

Adam Opel AG[1] is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862.[2] Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an AG in 1929. In late 2005, the company was transformed into a GmbH (PLC).

The company is headquartered at the Adam Opel Haus in Rüsselsheim, and has been a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Company since 1929.

Opel has announced that it will invest around 11 billion Euros in the next five years. One billion of that is designated solely for the development of innovative and fuel-saving engines and transmissions.

History

Advertisement for Opel Perfecta-Sewing Machines (1901)

The company was founded in Rüsselsheim, Hesse, Germany on January 21, 1862 by Adam Opel. At the beginning, Opel just produced sewing machines in a cowshed in Rüsselsheim. Above all, his success was based on his perfectly customized sewing machines. Because of the quick growth of his business, in 1888 the production was relocated from the cowshed to a more spacious building in Rüsselsheim. Encouraged by success, Adam Opel launched a new product in 1886: He began to sell high-wheel bicycles, also known as penny-farthings. Besides, Opel’s two sons participated in high-wheel bicycle races and thus promoted this means of transportation. Therefore, the production of high-wheel bicycles soon exceeded the production of sewing machines.[3] At the time of Opel’s death in 1895, he was the leader in both markets.

The first cars were produced in 1899 after Opel’s sons entered into a partnership with Friedrich Lutzmann, a locksmith at the court in Dessau in Saxony-Anhalt, who had been working on automobile designs for some time.[4] These cars were not very successful and so the partnership was dissolved after two years, following which Opel’s sons signed a licensing agreement with the French Automobiles Darracq S.A. to manufacture vehicles under the brand name «Opel-Darracq». These cars were made up of Opel bodies mounted on a Darracq chassis, powered by a 2-cylinder engine.

In 1901, Adam Opel separated from Lutzmann and signed a new contract with a Frenchman, Alexandre Darracq. The company first showed cars of its own design at the 1902 Hamburg Motor Show, and started manufacturing them in 1906, with Opel-Darracq production being discontinued in 1907.

In 1909, the Opel 4/8 hp model, known as the «Doctor’s Car» was produced. Its reliability and robustness were greatly appreciated by physicians, who drove a lot to see their patients, back when hard-surfaced roads were still rare. The «Doctor’s Car» sold for only 3,950 marks, about half as much as the luxury models of its day.

In 1911, the company’s factory was virtually destroyed by fire and a new one was built with more up-to-date machinery.

By 1914, Opel had become the largest German manufacturer of motor vehicles.

In the early 1920s, Opel became the first German car manufacturer to incorporate a mass production assembly line in the building of their automobiles. In 1924, they used their assembly line to produce a new open two-seater called the «Laubfrosch». The Laubfrosch was finished exclusively in green lacquer. The car sold for an expensive 4,500 marks, (expensive considering the less expensive manufacturing process) but by the 1930s this type of vehicle would cost a mere 1,990 marks — due in part to the assembly line, but also due to the skyrocketing demand for cars. Adam Opel led the way for motorized transportation to become not just a means for the rich, but a reliable way for people of all classes to travel.

1902 Opel Darracq

Opel had a 37.5% market share in Germany and was also the country’s largest automobile exporter in 1928. The «Regent» — Opel’s first eight-cylinder car — was offered. The RAK 1 and RAK 2 rocket-propelled cars made sensational record-breaking runs.

In March 1929, General Motors (GM), impressed by Opel’s modern production facilities, bought 80% of the company, increasing this to 100% in 1931. The Opel family gained $33.3 million from the transaction. Subsequently, a second factory was built at Brandenburg for the production of «Blitz» light trucks.

In 1935, Opel became the first German car manufacturer to produce over 100,000 vehicles a year. This was based on the popular Opel «P4» model. The selling price was a mere 1,650 marks and had a 23 hp (17 kW) 1.1 L four-cylinder engine and a top speed of 85 km/h (53 mph). Opel also produced the first mass-production vehicle with a self-supporting all steel body. They called it the «Olympia». With its small weight and aerodynamics came an improvement in both performance and fuel consumption. Opel receives a patent which is considered one of the most important innovations in automotive history.

1939 saw the presentation of the extremely successful, «Kapitän». With a 2.5 L six-cylinder engine, all-steel body, front independent suspension, hydraulic shock absorbers, hot-water heating w/electric blower and central speedometer. 25,374 Kapitäns left the factory before intensification World War II brought automotive manufacturing to a temporary stop in the Autumn/Fall of 1940, by order of the government.

World War II

World War II brought to Rüsselsheim the only year in the entire history of Opel — 1945 — in which it produced no vehicles at all, since that first Lutzmann-authored Opel was made in 1899. Before the conflict broke out, the Adam Opel AG had established itself as the largest motor vehicle manufacturer in Europe. The combination of Opel know-how with GM resources had produced outstanding results. In spite of stifling red tape, the economic atmosphere in Germany in the 1930s had powerfully fertilized the growth of this and other auto companies. But in the case of Opel, at least, it was clear that the expansion of this industrial machine was not directed in any way toward military objectives.

Military LKW Opel Blitz, Italy, 1944

Even after June 1940, official connections between Opel and America were not broken and monetary gain continued throughout the war which was controlled by the J.P Morgan firm, the Rüsselsheim plant was never given a major role in Germany’s war preparations. Neither was Ford’s plant in Cologne considered trustworthy enough for a big assignment, such as tank manufacture, in view of their earlier foreign associations. Initially, of course, it had appeared that the war would be a short one settled in Germany’s favor. Auto plants were shut down, to conserve resources, but not converted to other jobs.

When in 1942 it became clearer that the fighting would go on for a while, car and truck factories were switched to war work in a modest way, Opel taking up the production of aircraft parts and tanks. Only at the Brandenburg truck plant did vehicle manufacture roar ahead at full speed. From the end of 1938 onward to big Opel Blitz trucks had been powered by the same basic 3.6 L engine used in the Admiral. To meet the growing demands of wartime, 3 short tons (2.7 t) trucks of Opel design were built under license by Daimler-Benz at the former Benz factory at Mannheim.

One of the most versatile small German military vehicles, the Kettenkrad, a curious but useful blend of tractor and motorcycle, was powered with a 1.4 L Olympia four-cylinder engine. Produced by NSU, it had motorcycle-type front-wheel steering for gentle turns and negotiated tight corners with brakes on the propelling caterpillar tracks. The Kettenkrad towed antitank guns and transported troops and signal gear in several theater of war. NSU continued to make it after the war for use in mines and forests. It was one of the few vehicles that could do jobs formerly performed by horses for which, owing to the shortage of oats, there was even less fuel available than for motor vehicles.

As the war progressed, military authorities placed greater stress on the development of air-cooled engines, which they felt had more immunity to damage from weather, shellfire and misuse. To meet this demand, Opel engineers developed an unusual variation on normal cooling for the 3.6 L truck engine. It was called «air-oil cooling,» and used engine oil to take heat away from the jackets around the cylinder barrels. The heads were directly cooled by air, there being three separate aluminum finned heads, each serving two cylinders. Of this interesting engine, which developed 72 hp (54 kW/73 PS) at 3000 rpm on 74-octane fuel, only three examples were built.

Other special jobs were undertaken at the Rüsselsheim factory. One that was too exotic to be typical was the construction of an intercooler for the supercharger of the famous Junkers Juno aircraft engine. Special methods had to be developed to fabricate this vital assembly from very thin sheets of aluminum. With work like this going on, Germany’s enemies naturally took note of the various Opel plants and, starting in August 1944, began visiting them by air. The resulting devastation was a tragic echo of the effects of the fire of exactly 33 years earlier. Destruction was heavy at both Rüsselsheim and Brandenburg from the attacks by Allied bombers. Never was the outlook more bleak at Adam Opel AG than in the first months of 1945.

Opel had been transformed and rebuilt before. There was very little, actually, beyond the determination of the men and women who believed in the power of the Opel idea and the 83 years over which it had been created. Many of the tools with which they once had worked were gone. The Brandenburg truck plant fell into the Russian Zone of a divided post-war Germany. It did not stay there long. All the machinery and equipment — right down to the window frames and bathroom fixtures — was dismantled and shipped to a site near the Ural mountains.

Cars as well as truck production lines were lost by Opel. As reparations for war destruction, under plans of the Allied Forces, the Soviet Union asked the Allied Military Government for the tools, jigs, dies, fixtures, and drawings for the Kadett. This, they said, they would use to begin auto production at an Opel subsidiary in Russian-occupied Leipzig. The equipment was duly delivered to the Soviets in June 1946, and that was the last Opel was to see of it — but not of the Kadett.

Just a year later a new Soviet car, the Moskvitch 400, rolled off a Moscow assembly line. It was the Opel Kadett in every detail; only the name was changed. By late 1950, the Russians were exporting these Kremlin Kadetts to Belgium, stressing in their promotion that spare parts could easily be obtained from Germany. Not until 1959 was a Moskovitch model introduced that bore no trace of Opel engineering. And by that time, Opel was just about ready to introduce a new Kadett of its own.

Only the strong resistance of the American government within whose zone of occupation Rüsselsheim was located, prevented the total dismantling of the entire Opel plant as reparations in Russia. GM had no say in these discussions and was not sure just what posture to take toward its sometime subsidiary. GM’s Alfred Sloan recalled:

«(Opel) had been seized by the German government soon after the war began. In 1942 our entire investment in Opel amounted to about $35 million, and under a ruling which the Treasury Department had made concerning assets in enemy hands, we were allowed to write off the investment against current taxable income. But this ruling did not end our interest in, or responsibility for, the Opel property. As the end of the war drew near, we were given to understand that we were still considered the owners of the Opel stock; and we were also given to understand that as the owners, we might be obliged to assume responsibility for the property.» It was a responsibility that Sloan and his associates weren’t at all sure was worth the risk in the chaos of postwar Europe.

One resource that did not appear on the books of General Motors or on the rolls of the occupying authorities was most responsible for the recovery of Opel in 1945: the extraordinary loyalty of its workers. They were not itinerant opportunists who had looked on their work at Rüsselsheim as just another job. They were men and women who had, for the most part, come from that immediate area, many from the quiet of the country, and had literally grown up with the Adam Opel AG More important to them than their own fates was that of Opel, for its collapse would mean the loss of the most important employer for the people of Rüsselsheim who were finding their way home from the chaos of war.

Just at war’s end a small skeleton crew began clearing the rubble from the plant. By May 1945, this work had advanced enough to allow the beginning of production of desperately needed Opel parts. Getting the materials for them was more dependent on barter and black markets than it was on normal sources of supply, which had all but ceased to exist.

Post World War II

After the end of the war, with the Brandenburg plant dismantled and transported to Russia, and 47% of the buildings in Rüsselsheim destroyed,[5] former Opel employees began to rebuild the Rüsselsheim plant.

In response to the pressing need for new trucks in a Germany struggling to rebuild, the American authorities governing Rüsselsheim granted permission to the plant to produce a 1.5 short tons (1.4 t) truck powered by the 2.5 L Kapitän engine. It was a minor miracle that even this was possible. By January 1946, the plant itself was ready to build trucks but many of the almost 12,000 parts needed to make each one were lacking. Before the big firms could begin, the small ones had to get started too. And illness and poor nutrition so crippled the staff of 6,000 workers that it was normal for 500 to be too sick to come to work and more than 400 to report sick during the day.

Overcoming these and other obstacles, Opel finally celebrated the completion of the first postwar Opel Blitz truck on July 15, 1946 in the presence of U.S. Army General Geoffrey Keyes and other local leaders and press reporters.[5] Priced at 6600RM, the truck was designed to run either on gasoline or on wood gas, for which a gas generator could be supplied. With a ceremonial bouquet of flowers flying from its rear-view mirror, this historic Opel Blitz left the factory gate bound for a buyer in Wiesbaden on July 26. Further production followed at a rate of 150 a month, and by the end of 1946 the production total was 839. Frigidaire refrigerators were also being made at Rüsselsheim, as were Olympia engines for the NSU Kettenkrad.

The next step for Opel was the resumption of passenger car production. It might have seemed easiest to bring back the Kapitan first, since its engine was already in production for the truck. But occupation regulations restricted German civilians to cars of 1.5 L or less, which made the Olympia the obvious candidate. Under Dr. Ing e.h. Karl Stief, who had been chief engineer at Opel since 1934, useful changes were made to this tough little car. The Dubonnet front suspension was replaced by a conventional coil-and-wishbone layout and the steering was correspondingly rearranged.

Announced in November 1947, production of the post-war Olympia, with austere painted hubcaps, began in December 1948 and allowed a modest return to export sales in that year. In October 1948, the Kapitän came back to the Opel lineup, unchanged except for such details as the shape of the headlights and improvements in the leaf springs and dampers. Prices in 1948 were 9950 DM for the Kapitan and 6785 DM for the Olympia (the Deutschmark having replaced the Reichsmark on June 20, 1948).

Other events which would powerfully affect Opel’s future were taking place in 1948. In February and March, a GM study group came to Germany to investigate every aspect of Europe’s economic situation and Opel’s special problems. On their return they submitted a report, on March 26, recommending that General Motors resume control of Opel. On April 5, however, GM’s financial policy committee concluded that «in view of the many uncertainties surrounding the operation of this property, the Corporation is not justified in resuming the responsibility for its operation at this time…» GM, it seemed, didn’t want Opel.

Second thoughts on this decision leaped immediately into the minds of such executives as Alfred P. Sloan Jr., and Charles Wilson, GM’s President. Later in April, Sloan sought to resolve the differences of opinion with a position paper that he hoped would set up conditions for resuming control of Opel that would put at rest the doubts of GM’s more conservative financial minds.

Sloan suggested that GM take the helm of Opel again for a two-year «probationary» period to see whether the economic conditions, then called «close to stagnation» in Germany, would improve. Sloan set other important goals: «General Motors should risk no additional capital in Opel. Credit facilities should be available. We should have complete freedom in personnel policies and administration. The products produced by Adam Opel AG should be solely within the jurisdiction of management, and if prices had to be approved by government authority, a reasonable return on the capital should be allowed.»

With these guidelines in mind, the Opel question was put again on May 3 to the GM financial policy committee, which then withdrew its objections to a return to Rüsselsheim. Many, many details still had to be worked out, both within GM and in the U.S. occupied zone of Germany, before this could actually occur. At last, the official word was released on November 1, 1948: GM resumed management control of Adam Opel AG Edward W. Zdunek, formerly regional manager for Europe of General Motors Overseas Operations Division, was named managing director.

The appointment of Zdunek to this post was a move of special significance. An experienced motor industry executive, he was not merely liked but indeed loved by those who worked for him. The sensitive hand of Ed Zdunek was the perfect choice to guide the fragile Opel ship through the roiling waters of postwar Germany. He continued in that critical position until 1961.

Changes in the Opel cars under GM’s management didn’t appear until January 1950, when a face-lifted Olympia was introduced. Front and rear fenders were elongated and a heavy horizontal chrome grille was added. A retrograde step was the replacement of the four-speed gearbox with a three-speed unit, with a column shift lever. Engine tuning emphasized high torque at low engine speeds so the extra ratio wasn’t too sorely missed. The cabrio-coach model was returned to the Olympia range and a kombi was also offered, built by Karosserie Miesen. In February 1951, in preparation for the first postwar automobile show in Germany, the Olympia was dressed up further with a trunk compartment that enclosed the spare tire and 15 in (38 cm) wheels instead of 16 in (41 cm) wheels and tires. With minor further changes, this model lasted to March 1953.

Detail improvements, such as a new dashboard and a steering column shift, embellished the Kapitän line in May 1950. Bigger changes were saved for March 1951, to anticipate the opening of the doors of the Frankfurt show on April 19 for an 11-day run. Its earlier fast-back style was modified to a mild notch-back contour, and a new horizontal grille — not the prettiest in Opel history — dominated the frontal view. With a higher compression ratio (still only 6.25:1), engine power was 58 bhp (43 kW/59 PS) at 3700 rpm and top speed was 80 mph (130 km/h). Output increased to 60 bhp (45 kW/61 PS) during the further life of this model, which ended in July 1953.

More or less by ‘fait accompli’, in the absence of the tools to build the Kadett, Opel found itself in the middle-priced bracket in Germany’s postwar auto market, sandwiched between VW and Mercedes-Benz. This was a position that was not unfamiliar to both GM and Opel, and one in which it did amazingly well. In 1953, output rose above 100,000 units for the first time since the war, and in 1954, when the sprawling plant by the Main River was considered completely rebuilt, 24,270 were employed at Adam Opel AG and 167,650 vehicles were built—an all-time high. Opel had looked the spectre of oblivion in the eye and come back stronger than ever.

Opel restructuring (2009-present)

In early 2009, the future of GM’s German brand, Opel was thrown into uncertainty as the global financial crisis drove GM towards bankruptcy. New Opel (Opel plus Vauxhall, minus Saab),[6] was controlled by a trustee, with a controlling board made up of representatives from GM, employees and the German Government; the company was subject to a bidding process.

The deal, underwritten by the German Government, was negotiated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. GM was expected to keep a 35% minority stake in the new company,[7][8] Opel staff 10%,[9] with a plan which proposed to sell the majority of the business to one of two partners:

  • FIAT
  • A consortium majority-owned by a Sberbank of Russia (35%), Magna International of Canada (20%), and Opel employees (10%)

The new company would not be allowed to sell Opel cars in the U.S. (permanently) and China (at least temporarily) markets, which are the two biggest markets in the world.[10]

On June 1, 2009, GM filed for bankruptcy in a court in New York. As the sale of Opel had been negotiated two days before, with the preferred bidder the Magna consortia, both companies were in effect ring-fenced from any GM asset liquidation.[11][12][13][14] If Opel needed to reduce production of its own core models then any unused capacity could be used to manufacture vehicles for other carmakers. Inside sources close to Magna revealed that some of the possible third party carmakers include Ford and PSA Peugeot Citroen.[15]

GM announced that final bids were to be placed with them by July 20, which resulted in three bidders:[16]

  • Magna, still backed by Sberbank, had made a last-minute change to its bid in order to placate concerns about its Russian partner’s influence. This would result in both partners having a 27.5% share in the new company, with GM retaining 35%.
  • Belgian-based investor RHJ International
  • China’s Beijing Automotive Industries — disqualified over «intellectual property issues» a few days later[17]

Toward the end of August 2009, there were doubts over whether a sale of Opel would actually go ahead, though a German government official later revealed that talks were continuing.[18] This was followed by RHJ International raising its bid for Opel to €300m from €275m.[19]

On September 10, 2009, GM agreed to sell a 55% stake in Opel to the Magna group with the approval of the German government.[20] The agreement would have kept Opel a fully integrated part of GM’s global product development organisation. However, on 3 November 2009 the GM board called off the Magna deal after coming to the conclusion that Opel was crucial to GM’s global strategy.[21]

With ongoing restructuring plans Opel announced the closure of its Antwerp plant in Belgium from January 2011 onwards.

Adam Opel AG today

Opel Astra J (since 2009)

Opel is one of the most traditional car manufacturers in Germany, and one of Europe’s largest automakers. The company operates 11 vehicle, powertrain, and component plants and three development centers in six countries, and employs around 40,000 people (as of December 2010). Many additional jobs are provided by some 6,600 independent sales and service outlets as a direct result of their business with the automaker. Opel and its sister brand in the U.K., Vauxhall, sell vehicles in more than 40 markets worldwide. The company’s factory in Rüsselsheim has been transformed to one of the most modern plants in the world for €750 million and started production in 2002. The capacity is around 180,000 vehicles a year. Other Opel plants are in Bochum, Eisenach, and Kaiserslautern, Germany; St. Petersburg, Russia; Vienna/Aspern, Austria; Szentgotthard, Hungary; Zaragoza, Spain and Gliwice, Poland. Opel cars are also made in Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port and Luton plant in the UK. The Dudenhofen Test Center is located near the Rüsselsheim headquarters.

Also located in Rüsselsheim is the International Technical Development Center (ITDC) and the Opel Design Center. Around 6,300 people are responsible for the development and design of Opel vehicles. All in all, Opel plays an enormously important role in the global GM corporate group as it has for instance developed and engineered the Epsilon (I) platform, Epsilon II platform, Delta (I) platform, Gamma platform and played an important role in the development of especially the higher-end, more-refined versions of the Delta II platform and the Gamma II platform. In addition, the company is developing new manufacturing equipment for the global GM auto production.

So Opel is in most cases fully responsible for all the car architectures and technologies up to the Opel Insignia/Buick Regal/Buick LaCrosse. In particular, all the future-oriented, modern, full-efficient GM architectures for more compact vehicles are developed by Opel in Rüsselsheim.

Even the idea and concept behind the Chevrolet Volt/Opel Ampera is rooted in Opel/Germany with Frank Weber, the former «Global Vehicle Line Executive and Global Chief Engineer electric vehicle development» and therefore leader of the Volt-development, being originally an Opel-employee who was moved to the USA in order to advance the development of this prestigious, revolutionary concept in GM’s home country instead of the German outpost that is Opel. In 2009, Weber returned during the reorganization of the Opel leadership to Opel as «Vice President Planning and Commercial Vehicle Operations» for the company.[22]

Opel Meriva B (since 2010)

Opel established Opel Performance Center GmbH (OPC) in 1997, which is responsible for the development of high-performance cars of Opel.

Opel Special Vehicles GmbH (OSV) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Adam Opel AG which produces special series and undertakes vehicle modifications. Together with the ITDC, OSV developed the environmentally friendly and cost-CNG-drive concept based on natural gas (Compressed Natural Gas) and was first implemented on the Opel Zafira 1.6 CNG.

In 2011, Opel sold over 1,18 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Europe, achieving a market share of 6.2%. In Germany, Opel regained the number two position with a market share of 7.6%. It offers International and Diplomat Sales (IDS) to customers in international organizations, military, and diplomatic service.

Starting this year, the company will begin selling vehicles in China, Chile and Israel. In late 2011, Opel will also sell vehicles in South Africa, Argentinia and the Middle East.

Opel employees and production in Europe

From April 1, 2011, Karl-Friedrich Stracke will be CEO of Adam Opel AG.

[Rüsselsheim, Germany

Production site Production since Products Comments Employees
Opel-factories (Germany)
1898
  • Insignia (Sedan, Hatchback and Sports Tourer)
  • Astra (5-door)
 Int.Technical Development Center (ITDC)
Headquarters of Adam Opel AG 		15.600
Bochum, Germany 1962
  • Zafira
 4.800
Kaiserslautern, Germany 1966
  • Components
  • Engines
 3.100
Eisenach, Germany 1990
  • Corsa (3-door)
 1.700
Opel-factories (Europe)
Luton, Great Britain 1905
  • Vivaro
 Headquarters of Vauxhall Motors 1.284
Ellesmere Port, Great Britain 1962
  • Astra (5-door, Sports Tourer)
 2.117
Zaragoza, Spain 1982
  • Corsa (3-door, 5-door)
  • Meriva
 5.670
St. Petersburg, Russia 2008
  • Antara
  • Astra (5-door)
 1.200
Gliwice, Poland 1998
  • Astra (5-door)
 3.000
Aspern, Austria 1982
  • Engines
  • Transmissions
 1.800
St. Gotthard, Hungary 1990
  • Engines
  • Transmissions
 620
Production of related companies
Renault/SOVAB (Societé des Véhicules Automobiles de Batilly)
Batilly, Dept. Meurthe-et-Moselle, France 		1980
  • Movano
Magyar Suzuki Corp.
Esztergom, Hungary 		1991
  • Agila
 6.300
Tofaş
Bursa, Turkey 		1968
  • Combo
 8.200

European Car of the Year

Opel has produced three winners of the European Car of the Year award.

  • 1985 — Opel Kadett E
  • 1987 — Opel Omega A
  • 2009 — Opel Insignia

Other Opel models have come in either second or third in the contest.

  • 1980 — Opel Kadett D
  • 1982 — Opel Ascona C
  • 1989 — Opel Vectra A
  • 1991 — Opel Calibra
  • 1992 — Opel Astra A
  • 1995 — Opel Omega B
  • 1999 — Opel Astra B
  • 2000 — Opel Zafira A
  • 2007 — Opel Corsa D
  • 2010 — Opel Astra J

History of the logo

Zeppelin 1937 logo

The first Opel logo after the founding of the company consisted of the squiggly letters A and O, the initials of Adam Opel. The A was in bronze, the O kept in red.

Starting in 1886, was then seen, inter alia, the goddess of Victory Victoria and a cyclist on the logo. This image was surrounded by the inscription «Victoria Blitz», the name of one of the first Opel bicycles. From 1909, the name became the logo. A spirited Opel name in gold adorned the motorcycles and cars. A year later, the logo was again changed. From now on, we saw a blue, surrounded by laurels eye, which contained the words «Opel» in capital letters (uppercase).

By 1935, they introduced a stylized Zeppelin, symbolizing the progress, surrounded by a yellow ring, which is supposed to represent a wheel. The Zeppelin also occurred as a hood ornament, for example at the Olympia. As of 1950, another logo was used, not found on the vehicles, but rather intended for the dealer organization. Another Opel logo was a white oval which was yellow on one half.

In the 1960s, they changed the Zeppelin increasingly to flash. Officially, the Lightning since 1963, the logo of Opel. In 1970, the logo of the dealer organization was again changed to see the flash with a ring on a yellow rectangle to see the lettering below the «Opel» was about. The official logo was surrounded by a black rectangle, and found primarily on printed materials used. In 1987, the Opel logo then modernized.

On the vehicles himself had since the 1940s, however, always see only the Opel logo without typography, again and again in different materials (in shape or size characters), and proportions, even at the same time produced models. The production of a single CI is the longest time at Opel have not been consistently followed.

The 2007 study presented shows the current GTC Concept Opel logo was engraved into the top ring of the lettering on «Opel». The Insignia has a single model since 2008 also has this logo.

Motorsport

Opel has announced that it plans to return to the DTM (German Touring Car Masters) series in 2012.

Clubs with the name Opel

The SC Opel Rüsselsheim is a soccer club with about 450 members from Rüsselsheim, which combines a checkered history with the company Opel. The RV 1888 Opel Rüsselsheim is a cycling club.

Marketing

Opel is set to launch new ad campaigns with the Eurovision Song Contest Winner 2010 Lena Meyer-Landrut [23] of Germany and with singer/songwriter Katie Melua[24] of Georgia.

Slogans

Opel’s corporate tagline is Wir leben Autos, meaning “We live cars”. The German-language tagline is used in many European countries.[25]

What “Wir Leben Autos” means

The «Wir» (We) stands for the excitement and affirmative, positive attitude of the employees and dealers – a great starting point for the development of intelligent, surprising and innovative products they supply to their customers.

The word «leben» (live) embodies the high level of energy at Opel. It is a vitality which anyone who has experienced an Opel can feel through the variety of practical functions, exciting innovations and fascinating, dynamic design.

Finally, the «Autos» (cars) have become an essential part of their lives. They combine their personal experiences with that of their customers in order to make their daily mobility simpler and more comfortable.

Marketing with fictitious band

Opel operates one of the first car manufacturer «viral marketing» with the fictional band the C.M.O.N.S. The band consists of the characters White, Red and Blue (male), and Moo and Cherri (female). They were designed by the German artist living in Barcelona, Boris Hoppek. The music is from the (real existing) band, The Outcomes.

On the C.M.O.N.S. drew attention, inter alia, poster campaigns and contributions in online communities like YouTube and MySpace. Particularly noteworthy is the collaboration with MTV. Meanwhile, Opel use the C.M.O.N.S. directly for the Corsa publicity. Opel was the sponsor of the MTV Europe Music Awards 2006, 2 November 2006 and the Corsa was the «official car» of the event.

Model names

From the beginning of production until 1930, the Opel models usually carried model-numbers such as 4 / 12 hp. The number before the slash was the tax horsepower, the number behind it was the actual performance in horsepower. Exceptions were the first Opel, which bore the name Patent Motor Car «System Lutzman», and the Opel Regent, from 1928 — 25 vehicles were produced.

This quite complicated system was replaced after the takeover by General Motors in 1931 by the given engine displacement (for example, 1.2 liters), which was kept only until 1937. An exception here was the Opel P4, whose name indicates it as a four-seater car . The name of the 1935 produced Opel Olympia was chosen in view of the Olympic Summer Games in 1936 and taken over by the following models.

From the late 1930s to the 1980s, terms from the German Navy (Captain, Admiral, Cadet), and from other official sectors (Diplomat, Senator) were often used as model names, from the late 1980s, the design names changed to ones ending in «A». The last series to be renamed was the Opel Kadett, which was renamed the Opel Astra taking the name that had been used on its English (Vauxhall) sister model since the Kadett D (1979–1984). The only exception to this naming was the built under license Opel Monterey. Similarly, the model names of the Transporter models ending with «O» (Combo, Vivaro, Movano, former Campo). Now models which do not have names ending in «A» have been re-introduced, such as the Opel Signum, Opel Speedster, even if many «A» models remain in production to date.

Models for other countries

Many cars sold by GM worldwide are Opel engineered vehicles, including such models as the Astra, Corsa, Insignia and Zafira. Opel models are also sold under other GM brand names, such as Vauxhall in the UK, Buick in China and North America and Chevrolet in Latin America. Its Zafira people carrier was sold in Australia badged as a Holden Zafira. The Opel Blazer was a rebadged Chevrolet Blazer especially for Indonesia. The Opel Calais was a rebadged Holden Commodore especially for Malaysia. The Opel Corsa Utility was a rebadged Chevrolet Montana for South Africa only, but in 2010 this model was rebadged to Chevrolet Corsa Utility.

Opel in the United States

Opels appeared under their own name in the U.S. from 1958-1975, when they were sold through Buick dealers as captive imports. The best-selling Opel models in the U.S. were the 1964–1972 Opel Kadett, the 1971–1975 Opel Manta, and the now-classic 1968–1973 Opel GT.[26][27] (The name «Opel» was also applied from 1976 to 1980 on vehicles manufactured by Isuzu (similar to the «Isuzu I-mark»), but mechanically those were entirely different cars).
However, there are and have been lots of cars sold in the U.S. that are based on Opel models or on platforms developed by Opel:

Buick Regal (5th generation, 2009–present)

The Buick Regal is more or less a rebadged Insignia. The main differences are the modified radiator grill and the altered color of the passenger compartment illumination (blue instead of red). The Regal GS equals to the Opel Insignia OPC.
Currently, the Regal is assembled alongside the Opel Insignia at the Opel plant in Rüsselsheim, Germany with the plan to also build it at the GM plant in Oshawa, Canada from the first quarter of 2011.

Opel Insignia OPC touring

Opel Insignia OPC

2011 Buick Regal GS 2 -- 2010 DC

Buick Regal GS Concept

Saturn Astra (2008-2009)

The Astra H was sold in the U.S. as the Saturn Astra for model years 2008 to 2009.

Opel Astra H 1.6 Twinport front 20100509

Opel Astra H 5-door

2008 Saturn Astra 3-door

Saturn Astra XR 3-door

Saturn Aura (2008-2009)

The Saturn Aura was an, especially in the interior, quite heavily modified version of the Opel Vectra C.

Opel Vectra C 2.2 Direkt front

Opel Vectra C (facelifted sedan)

Saturn Aura XE

Saturn Aura XE

Opel in Australia

Many Opel-models or models based on Opel architectures have been sold in Australia under the brand name of Holden. Currently, for the first time ever, it is planned that the brand Opel will be introduced to Australia in 2012.[28][29]

Holden Barina (1994-2005)

Two of the generations of the Holden Barina were essentially rebadged Opel Corsas. However, the first, the second and the most recent fifth generation were — compared to the rebadged Opel models — cheaper, lower-end Suzuki Cultus‘s (1st and 2nd Barina-generation) and Daewoo Kalos. As a result, the initial fifth generation (2005–2008) only scored 2 out of 5 stars in the ANCAP rating whilst the Opel-based predecessor scored 4 out of 5.

3rd generation (1994-2001)

This vehicle is a rebadged Opel Corsa B.

Corsa B2

Opel Corsa B

1998-2001 Holden SB Barina City 3-door hatchback 01

1998–2001 Holden SB Barina City 3-door hatchback.

4th generation (2001-2005)

This vehicle is a rebadged Opel Corsa C.

Opel Corsa front 20080111

Opel Corsa C

2003 Holden XC Barina (MY2003) SXi 3-door hatchback 01

2003 Holden XC Barina SXi 3-door

Opel in South Africa

Opel were distributed via Delta Motors until 2003. They sold the Opel Kadett, Opel Corsa, Opel Ascona and Opel Senator. The current Opel range in South Africa comprises the Opel Corsa and Opel Astra (Opel Astra J, sold only as a five-door). No diesel versions are offered. The Opel Insignia is currently unavailable, and the Opel Vectra was never offered there due to a lack of popularity for midsize cars in South Africa.

Model lineup

Passenger Cars

Opel Agila Opel Ampera Opel Antara Opel Astra Opel Corsa Opel Insignia Opel Meriva Opel Zafira
2000–present 2011–present 2006–present 1991–present 1982–present 2008–present 2002–present 1999–present
  • City car
  • mid-size car
  • Compact crossover SUV
  • 3-door hatchback
  • 5-door hatchback
  • 5-door estate
  • 3-door hatchback
  • 5-door hatchback
  • 4-door sedan
  • 5-door hatchback
  • 5-door station wagon
  • Mini MPV
  • Compact MPV
Novo agila 1.jpg Opel Ampera.JPG Antaraopel.JPG Neues astra 1.jpg Corsa D.jpg Insignia000.JPG Opel Meriva B 1.3 CDTI Edition front 20100722.jpg Zafirona b.JPG

Commercial vehicles

Opel Combo Opel Vivaro Opel Movano
1994–present 2001–present 1998–present
  • Panel van
  • Van, Minibus
  • Panel van
ComboopelB.JPG 7ba7VIVARO 27.JPG Opel Movano B front 20100705.jpg

OPC models

Opel Astra OPC Opel Corsa OPC Opel Insignia OPC
1999–present 2007–present 2009–present
  • 3-door hatchback
  • 3-door hatchback
  • 4-door sedan
  • 5-door hatchback
  • 5-door station wagon
Opel astra H 3T opc.jpg Opel corsa 3T opc.jpg Opel insignia 4T opc.jpg

Timeline

  • 1862 — Adam Opel founded Opel.[2]
  • 1899 — First Opel automobile patent: reverse gear in patented motor car, Lutzmann system.
  • 1909 — Opel makes the automobile affordable with the «Doctor’s Car», which is sold at half the price (3,950 marks) of competitors’ luxury models.
  • 1910 — Introduction of the modular construction system at Opel. Now, prefabricated car bodies can be combined with different engines and chassis.
  • 1924 — Opel is the first German manufacturer to adopt assembly-line manufacturing methods that enable volume production.
  • 1928 — Opel builds RAK 1 and RAK 2. RAK 2 has 24 solid fuel rockets that catapult the vehicle to 238 km/h (148 mph), setting a new world record.
  • 1929 — Adam Opel AG in Rüsselsheim, Germany, is acquired.
  • 1931 — Opel is the first manufacturer to set up a customer service school.
  • 1935 — Opel Olympia is the first German large-volume vehicle with self-bearing whole-steel body.
  • 1940 — Opel production is suspended through the war years.
  • 1950 — The Opel plant in Rüsselsheim is completely rebuilt.
  • 1962 — Inauguration of the second Opel plant in Bochum, Germany.
  • 1965 — The Opel Experimental GT is the first concept car of a European automobile manufacturer and the first concept car to go into production (in 1968).
  • 1967 — Inauguration of the Opel Belgium plant in Antwerp.
  • 1976 — Opel patent: cavity in piston head reduces noise in diesel engines.
  • 1982 — New assembly plant opens in Zaragoza, Spain, to produce the Opel Corsa.
  • 1984 — The Kadett GSi is the most streamlined car in its class, at 0.30 cd.
  • 1989 — Opel is the first European manufacturer to offer catalytic converters on all gasoline models.
  • 1992 — New Opel plant opens in Eisenach, Germany.
  • 1993 — Opel patent: a «metal protection sheet» integrated into the backrest of the seats forms a rigid barrier.
  • 1994 — Opel patent: special process for separation of oil-in-water emulsions.
  • 1995 — Corsa Eco3 is the first ready-to-drive 3-liter per 100 km car in the world.
  • 1996 — New engine plant in Kaiserslautern, Germany, begins production. Opel and Renault sign cooperation agreement in light commercial vehicle sector.
  • 1998 — Inauguration of new Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim. Inauguration of new Opel plant in Gliwice, Poland.
  • 1999 — Opel celebrates 100 years of car production on January 21. Flex7 seating system in the Opel Zafira.
  • 2002 — Production of new Vectra starts at Opel’s state-of-the-art facility in Rüsselsheim, Germany.
  • 2007 — Opel introduces low-emission ecoFlex variants of its volume model lines. Opel engineers developing mechatronic chassis, that makes driving safer and more comfortable.
  • 2008 — Opel Eye is introduced in Opel Insignia.
  • 2009 — Opel Ampera is unveiled at Geneva Motor Show.

See also

  • Adam Opel
  • Irmscher
  • Opel Performance Center
  • Steinmetz Opel Tuning
  • Vauxhall Motors
  • VXR
  • List of German cars

Notes

  1. ↑ http://media.opel.com/content/media/intl/en/news/news_detail.brand_opel.html/content/Pages/news/intl/en/2011/OPEL/01_05_opel_stock_corporation
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 «Opel Media — Europe — Company». Media.opel.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-21.
  3. ↑ «Informationen zu Opel». Autoscout24.de. Retrieved on 2010-10-01.
  4. ↑ «Lutzmann». Cartype. Retrieved on 2009-06-13.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 «Das Alte stürzt…Es aendert sich die Zeit……und neues Leben blüht aus den Ruinen», Das Auto 1: Seite 2–3. December 1946.
  6. ↑ «DETNEWS | Weblogs | Autos Blog». Apps.detnews.com (2009-06-14). Retrieved on 2009-06-28.
  7. ↑ «Germany picks Magna to save Opel», BBC News (May 30, 2009).
  8. ↑ Weber, Tim (May 30, 2009). «Analysis: Opel’s survival still at stake», BBC News.
  9. ↑ «Hintergrund: So geht es weiter mit Opel». tagesschau.de. Retrieved on 2010-04-03.[dead link]
  10. ↑ «Magna says can’t sell Opel cars in U.S., China», Reuters (06-02-2009).
  11. ↑
    Sandler, Linda; Chris Scinta, Bob Van Voris & Jeff Green (June 1, 2009). «GM Files Bankruptcy to Spin Off More Competitive Firm (Update4)», Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg LP. Retrieved on June 1, 2009.
  12. ↑ Sanger, David E.; Jeff Zeleny & Bill Vlasic (May 31, 2009). «G.M. to Seek Bankruptcy and a New Start: A Risky Bet to Save an Icon of American Capitalism url = http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/business/01auto.html», New York Times. Retrieved on June 1, 2009.
  13. ↑ Sanger, David E. (May 31, 2009). «G.M. to Seek Bankruptcy and a New Start», New York Times. Retrieved on June 1, 2009.
  14. ↑ Maynard, Micheline (May 29, 2009). «After 93 Years, G.M. Shares Go Out on a Low Note», New York Times. Retrieved on June 1, 2009.
  15. ↑ Weber, Jeremy (2009-05-17). «Report: Magna considers using Opel to build cars for other brands». MotorAuthority. Retrieved on 2009-10-25.
  16. ↑ «GM receives three bids for Opel», BBC News (2009-07-20). Retrieved on 2009-07-20.
  17. ↑ «Beijing Auto fails in bid for GM’s Opel». Chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved on 2009-10-25.
  18. ↑ GM ‘still intends to sell Opel’ BBC News. 25 August 2009
  19. ↑ RHJ raises bid for carmaker Opel BBC News. 2 September 2009
  20. ↑ «Opel and Vauxhall to go to Magna», BBC News (2009-09-10). Retrieved on 2009-09-10.
  21. ↑ Vlasic, Bill (November 3, 2009). «G.M. Decides to Keep Opel, Its European Unit», New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-11-03.
  22. ↑ «Frank Weber wird Chef der Opel-Produktplanung [Autokiste]». Autokiste.de (2009-11-27). Retrieved on 2010-10-01.
  23. ↑ «Opel Media — Europe — News». Media.opel.com (2010-09-04). Retrieved on 2010-11-17.
  24. ↑ «Opel Media — Europe — News». Media.opel.com (2010-11-15). Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  25. ↑ «Opel Vice President Alain Visser: Cars are our passion». Iaa.opel.info (2009-09-15). Retrieved on 2010-04-03.
  26. ↑ «Opel Club». Opel Club. Retrieved on 2010-10-01.
  27. ↑ «Opel GT». Opel GT. Retrieved on 2010-10-01.
  28. ↑ «German article from heise online reporting that Opel is going to enter outer-european markets». Heise.de. Retrieved on 2010-10-01.
  29. ↑ GoAutoMedia (2010-09-14). «Opel 2011 Astra — Holden eyes Opel». GoAuto. Retrieved on 2010-10-01.

External links

Commons-logo.png

Opel at the Open Directory Project

Official sites

  • Opel International official corporate website
  • Opel Germany
  • Opel Media Site
  • Opel Connect – Social Media Hub

Video clips

  • Opel TV
  • Opel YouTube channel
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General Motors
GM lists

GM factories · GM platforms · GM engines · GM transmissions · GM vehicles by brand

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operating groups /
joint ventures

ACDelco · Ally (9.9%) · CAMI Automotive · Coskata, Inc. · DMAX (engines) (50%) · FAW-GM (50%) · GM Financial · GM Performance Division · GM Powertrain Europe ·  · General Motors América do Sul · General Motors Canada · General Motors de Mexico · General Motors do Brasil · General Motors India · General Motors Research Laboratories · General Motors South Africa · General Motors Ventures · Global Hybrid Cooperation · GM Goodwrench · GM Service and Parts Operations · Holden · Holden New Zealand · Holden Special Vehicles · HRL Laboratories (50%) · Isuzu Motors Polska · OnStar · Opel · Opel Performance Center · Shanghai GM · SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile · Vauxhall Motors

Former divisions
and joint ventures

Allison Engine Company (1929–1995) · Allison Transmission (1929–2007) · Atlantic Aircraft · Dayton-Wright Company (1919–1923) · Delco Electronics · Delphi Automotive Systems (1994-1999) · Detroit Diesel (1938–1988) · DirecTV (1994–2003) · Electro-Motive Diesel (1930–2004) · Electronic Data Systems (1984–1996) · Euclid Trucks (1953–1968) · Fisher Body · Fleetwood Metal Body · Frigidaire (1919–1980) · General Motors Europe AG (1986–2010) · General Motors Diesel Division (1938–1987) · General Motors Diesel (1949–1969) · Ghandhara Industries (1953–1963) · GM Defense (1950–2003) · GMAC Real Estate(1998-2008) · GM Truck & Bus Group (1943–1981) · GMC Heavy Trucks · Hughes Aircraft (1985–1997) · Hughes Electronics (1985–1997) · Hughes Network Systems (1987–2003) · HughesNet (DirecWay/DirecPC) (1996–2003) · Hummer (1998–2010) · Kettering University · National City Lines · New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI; 1984–2009) · New Venture Gear (36%, 1990–2002) · North American Aviation (1933–1948) · Nuvell Financial Services (1997–2008) · PanAmSat (1995–2003) · Remy Electric (1918–1994) · Rochester Products Division · Terex · Saturn Corporation (1985–2010) · Terminal Taxi Cab · United Australian Automobile Industries (UAAI; 1989–1996) · Winton Motor Carriage Company · Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company (1925–1943)

v · d · e

Opel — a marque of General Motors Company
General Motors
marques & companies

Buick • Cadillac • Chevrolet • GMC • Holden • Holden Special Vehicles • Opel • Opel Performance Center • Vauxhall • VXR
subsidiaries

Opel Eisenach GmbH • Opel Special Vehicles GmbH • Opel Performance Center GmbH
see also

list of GM factories • list of GM platforms • list of GM engines
current Opel
passenger car range

Agila • Ampera • Antara • Astra • Corsa • Insignia • Meriva • Zafira
current Opel
Commercial Vehicles range

Combo • Vivaro • Movano
Historic (pre-WWII)

Admiral (1937-’39) • Blitz • Doktorwagen • Kadett (1937-’40) • Kapitän (1938-’40) • 4 PS «Laubfrosch» • Lutzmann • Olympia (pre-WWII) • P4 • RAK2 • Super Six
Historic (post-WWII)

Admiral (1964-’77) • Ascona • Calibra • Campo • Commodore • Diplomat • Frontera • GT • Kadett-A (1962-’92) • Kapitän (1948-’70) • Manta • Monterey • Monza • Olympia (post-WWII) • Omega • Rekord • Senator • Sintra • Signum • Speedster • Vectra
motor racing cars

rally cars: Ascona A • Astra F • Corsa A • Corsa C • Kadett B • Kadett C • Kadett E • Manta B • DTM road race cars: Astra G • Calibra A • Vectra C
Opel concept cars

Frogster • Flextreme • GTC • Trixx

founder: Adam Opel • Opel corporate website • A marque of General Motors Company
v · d · e Opel road car timeline, 1947–1970s next »
Type 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Small family car Kadett A Kadett B Kadett C
Olympia Olympia Rekord Olympia A
Large family car Rekord PI Rekord PII Ascona A Ascona B
Executive car Rekord A Rekord B Rekord C Rekord D Rekord E
Kapitän Kapitän Kapitän PI / PII Commodore A Commodore B Commodore C
Luxury car Kapitän A / Admiral A / Diplomat A Kapitän B / Admiral B / Diplomat B Senator / Monza
Coupé / Roadster GT
Manta A Manta B
v · d · e « previous — Opel road car timeline, 1980s–present
Type 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
City car Agila A Agila B
Supermini Corsa A Corsa B Corsa C Corsa D
Compact car Kadett C Kadett D Kadett E Astra F Astra G Astra H Astra J
Large family car Ascona B Ascona C Vectra A Vectra B Vectra C
Rekord E / Commodore C Omega A Omega B Signum Insignia
Executive car Senator A / Monza Senator B
Sports car Tigra A Tigra TwinTop B
Manta B Calibra Speedster GT (Roadster)
Mini MPV Meriva A Meriva B
Compact MPV Zafira A Zafira B
Zafira Tourer C
Large MPV Sintra
SUV Frontera A Frontera B Mokka
Monterey Antara
LCV Kadett Combo Combo B Combo C Combo D
Arena Vivaro
Movano A Movano B
v · d · e

Truck Manufacturers

List of Truck manufacturers
Early UK & Ireland Truck Builders
All Types excluding · Steam wagons

AEC · AJS · Albion · Alvis · Argyle Trucks · Armstrong Saurer · Associated Daimler Company(ADC) · Atkinson · Austin · Baron · Bean · Beardmore · Bedford · Belsize Motors · BMC · Bristol · Caldon · Commer · Crossley Motors · Dennis · Dodge (GB) · Douglas · ERF · Foden · Fordson/Ford of Britain/Ford Thames · Fowler · FWD Motors · Garner · Garrett · General Vehicle Co. · Guilford Motor Co. · Guy · Halley Industrial Motors · Hallford · Hardy · Haulamatic · HHT · Jensen · Jowett · Karrier Motors · Kerr Stuart · Lacre · Latil · Leyland Commercial Vehicles Leyland Motors Ltd Leyland Steam Carriage Co. · Mack (GB) · Manchester · Mann · Maudslay · McCurd · Morris Commercials/Morris · Motor Traction Ltd(MTL) · Multiwheeler (Commercial Vehicles) Ltd · Pagefield Commercial Vehicles Ltd · Peerless · Proctor · Rotinoff · Rowe Hillmaster · Rutland · Scammell · Seddon · Seddon Atkinson · Sentinel · Shefflex · Shelvoke & Drewry · Star Engineering Co. · Thornycroft · Tilling Stevens · Vulcan · Willys Overland Crossley · Wolseley · Unipower
Modern UK & Ireland Truck Builders
(1960s-current)
(Factories in the UK)

AWD/Bedford · Dennison (Ireland) · (DAF) · Dennis Eagle · Dodge · ERF · Foden · Ford of Britain Ford Trucks/(Iveco-Ford) · Hino(Ireland) · Leyland Daf & Leyland Trucks (Paccar) · Multidrive · Scammell · (Volvo) · Unipower/Alvis-Unipower
European manufacturers

ACMAT · Agricola · Ajokki (Finland) · Albion Motors · Alfa Romeo (Italy) · Amanco · Astra(Italy) · AutoDiana · Avia (Czech) · Avia (Spain) · Barreiros(Spain) · Berliet (France) · Bernard(France) · Bollnäs · DAAG (Germany) · DAF(Netherlands) (Paccar) · EBIAN(Greece) · Ebro(Spanish) · ELBO (Greek) · Emelba (Spain) · Enasa (Spain) · Faun (German) · Fiat/Iveco(Italy)/Ford Trucks/Iveco-Ford · FTF Trucks (Netherlands) · Hanomag · Hanomag Henschel · Hispano-Suiza (Spain) · Intrall (Poland) · IPV (Spain) · Jelcz · Kaelble · KMC · Laffly (France) · Latil(France) · LIAZ · Magirus-Deutz (Germany) · MAN (German) · Mercedes Benz (German) · MOL (Belgium) · Panhard (France) · Pegaso (Spain) · Renault (France) · Roman · Saurer (Switzerland) · Saviem · Scania · Scania-Vabis · Steyr (Austria) · Tatra (Czech) · Uro (Spain) · Volkswagen (Germany) · Volvo (Sweden)
North American Manufacturers

Autocar · Auto Truck · Bering Truck · Challenger Manufacturing Ltd Chevrolet · Diamond Reo · Diamond T · Dodge · Ford America · Freightliner · FWD Auto Co · GMC · Hayes Truck · Hendrickson · International · Kenworth(Paccar) · Locomobile · Kleiber ·

China

Anhui Jianghuai  · BeiBen · Brilliance Auto · Chang’an Ford · Chang’an Suzuki · Changfeng Automobile · Chengdu FAW · Chery Automobile · CNHTG · Chongqing · Chongqing Lokon · Dayun Light Truck · Dayun Motor · Dongfeng · Dongfeng Liuzhou · Dongfeng Nissan-Diesel Company · FAW-GM · FAW Jie Fang · FAW Jilin · Foday Auto · Foton · Gonow · Great Wall Motor · Guangqi Hino Motors · Guangqi Toyota Automobile · Guangzhou · Hafei Motor · Hanyang · Heibao · HuaYang · Jiefang · JinBei · Jinhua Youngman Vehicle · Liaoning Shuguang · Lifan Group · Maxus · Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation · NAVECO · Polarsun Automobile · Qingling Motors · Qinhuangdao Jincheng · SAIC-IVECO Hongyan · Sanjiang Renault Automobile · Shaanxi · Shanghai GM · Shanghai Volkswagen · Shanghai-Huizhong · Shijiazhuang Shuanghuan Automobile Co · Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor · Sichuan Tengzhong · Sinotruk · Soar Automotive · Wanshan Special Vehicle · Wuhu FAW Yangzi · Wuling · Wuzheng · Xinkai Auto · Youngman-MAN · YTO · Yunnan Lifan Junma Vehicle · ZhangJianGang JiangNan · Zhejiang Jonway Automobile · Zhongxing(China)
Rest of Asian & Former Soviet Union
Manufacturers

Ashok Leyland(India) · Asia Motor Works · BelAZ · BEML · Daewoo(Korea) · Daimler Hero(India) · Eicher Motors(India) · Force Motors · GAZ · Hero(India) · Hino(Japan) · Hyundai · Industrija Motornih Vozil(Slovenia) · Inokom(Malaysia) · Isuzu(Japan) · Kamaz · KAZ · Kia · KrAZ · Master Motors · MAZ · Mitsubishi Fuso(Japan) · NefAZ · Otokar · Perkasa(Indonesia) · Sungri(Korea) · Swaraj Mazda · Tata(India) · Tata Daewoo(India) · Tatra Vectra · UD Nissan Diesel(Japan) · Ural(Russia) · Zastava · ZiL(Russia)
Africa & Middle East

BMC (Turkey) · GIAD Trucks (Sudan) · Truck-Makers Co.(SAMIL Truck) · Trucks and Bus Company(Libya) · Zamyad(Iran)
Specialist truck builders / Converter

AWD Engineering Limited and All Wheel Drive · American LaFrance(fire trucks) · Crane Carrier Co. · Dennis · Dennis Eagle · Faun · Ginaf · Kamag · Latil · MOL · Nicolas Tractomas · OAF · Oshkosh · Rotinoff · Schacht(USA) · Shelvoke & Drewry · Terberg · Titan · Unipower/Alvis-Unipower
Fuels

Bio fuel · Diesel · Ethanol · Kerosene · LPG · Paraffin · Petrol(Gasoline) · TVO (see also: AdBlue(DEF) & Catalytic converter for emission control )
Types of Internal combustion engine

Diesel engine · Hot Bulb Engine · Hybrid · Petrol engine · Steam engine · TVO Engine · Two Stroke · Four stroke · Six stroke
Specialist trailer builders

Andover Trailers (UK) · Boalloy (UK) · Boden (UK) · Broshuis(Holland) · carrymore (UK) · Cometto (Italy) · Cranes Trailers / Crane-Fruehauf (UK) · Dennison (Ireland) · Dyson Trailers (UK) · Faymonville · Fruehauf Corporation (USA) · Fruehauf UK · Goldhofer (Germany) · Ifor Williams (UK) · Kamag (Germany) · King Trailers (UK) · M & G trailers ? · Montracon (UK) · Nicolas(Germany) · Nooteboom (Holland) · Scheuerle(Germany) · Taskers of Andover (UK) · Tii Group(Germany)
Truck types

articulated lorry · Breakdown · box van · cattle wagon · Concrete mixer · curtainsider · demountable body · flat bed · fridge van · Heavy Haulage · Low loader · Luton body · machinery transport · pantechnicon · Pick-up truck · Reefer · Road train/Longer Heavier Vehicle · Tanker truck · Tipper truck · Skip wagon · Special Purpose Truck

See also Heavy Haulage Contractors & List of Engine Manufacturers
for Off road dumper trucks see List of Construction Plant Manufacturers
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