A year after Opel presented its PACE! strategic plan for the future, the company is initiating a product offensive featuring a fully electric new Corsa and a new Grandland X plug-in hybrid.
“PACE! works! Opel will be sustainably profitable, electric and global. This is something every employee can be proud of. We have managed to reorganise ourselves in the last twelve months and changed our mindset. We posted a profit of €502 million in the first six months of 2018 and we are continuing to work hard on our success,” emphasised Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller.
Opel is also increasingly benefitting from the integration into the Groupe PSA. Vehicles based on the shared Multi Energy Platforms are up to 50 percent more cost efficient in development while at the same time improving quality. Extensive synergies are also being achieved in numerous other areas of the company – such as by the creation of integrated sales structures in many European countries, as well as global functions.
Having access to the sophisticated Groupe PSA platforms and propulsion technologies is the foundation for the extensive electrification of the Opel portfolio. Four vehicles will already be electrified in 2020. This includes the new Corsa in a pure battery electric variant, along with the Grandland X PHEV – Opel’s first plug-in hybrid. These vehicles are integral components of Opel’s product offensive: the company will bring a total of eight new models to market in the next two years. There will be an electric version of every Opel model in 2024 already.
“This offensive will strongly contribute to meeting the strict CO2 limits set by the EU,” said Lohscheller. Charging infrastructure is a key enabler for the development of electrification. Therefore, Opel will contribute to a charging infrastructure project at the company’s headquarters together with partners such as the city of Rüsselsheim.
A further key pillar of the PACE! strategic plan is a further strengthening of the brand as well as a clear focus on profitable segments, channel mix and markets. Opel is already giving a preview of the brand image and the design philosophy of the future with the GT X Experimental.
