Opel Focusses on Rally Sport with ADAM R2 and next Corsa R2

• Great tradition: Opel stays loyal to motor sport
• European Rally Championship: Next Opel Corsa as R2 available at end of 2020

Opel ADAM R2 

Opel remains loyal to its long and successful history in motor sport. The German brand will compete again on national and international rally stages during the coming season.

In 2019 Opel Motorsport aims to claim its fifth successive victory in the European junior rally championship for drivers up to 27 years of age, which has now been officially renamed the FIA ERC3 Junior Championship. One of the 190hp ADAM R2 cars entered by Opel technology-partner, Holzer Motorsport, will be driven by Swede Elias Lundberg (20), who secured the drive in the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team by winning last year’s ADAC Opel Rallye Cup. A second car will be piloted by Grégoire Munster from Luxemburg (20), who finished second to Lundberg in last season’s Rallye Cup, taking three victories.

With 130 participants from 18 countries, Europe’s most successful brand rally trophy has offered a professional platform for young drivers since 2013, bringing eight young talents into the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team.

“We have been making cars for 120 years and motor sport has always formed Opel’s image – it should stay that way,” said Opel CEO, Michael Lohscheller. “Two aspects are particularly important to us – the fascination with technology and approachability for fans and customers. 

The promotion of young drivers is also high on our agenda. The combination with the long established structure at PSA Motorsport opens great additional opportunities for us.”

For the 2021 season, Opel will thus develop an R2 car based on the next Corsa for the European championship, as well as for international customer sport. The technical details of the Corsa R2, which should become available for private teams at the end of 2020, will be announced at a later date. The sixth generation of the bestselling Corsa, which comes onto the market this year, will form the basis of the rally car.

Opel will continue to support the ADAC Rallye Cup in 2019 with the 140 hp Cup-version of the ADAM and with the attractive proposition of a spares package for the next season for the winner. Opel will also offer all Cup participants an on-site technical and logistics service plus a starter-pack for new entrants.

Groupe PSA Poissy plant to produce an additional vehicle

• Allocation of a new Opel/Vauxhall B-SUV* was made possible by the initiatives taken to enhance performance at the plant
• Investments realised since 2016 have made of Poissy plant the first one of Groupe PSA  to assemble on  the multi-energy CMP**  platform 

Poissy plant has been working on its transformation project since 2016 to strengthen its competitiveness. The Groupe PSA manufacturing concept of multi-vehicle and multi-energy assembly line has been implemented with success. The new production line with the new multi-energy CMP platform is already operational with the launch this year of DS 3 Crossback in both electric and internal combustion versions. The resulting improvement of its manufacturing performance enabled the Poissy plant to secure production of the new Opel/Vauxhall B-SUV model that will join its new production line.

The advanced process of production on the same line of ICE*** and BEV**** for vehicles based on CMP platform, as well as PHEV and ICE models in other plants for EMP2 platform, is a key asset of Groupe PSA  to remain flexible with energy transition and accompany customers shift in demand.

 “Poissy employees are proud to lead the way this year with the first implementation of this state of the art manufacturing process for our Group. Having an additional vehicle is the clear recognition of our performance improvement and I would like to thank all the teams that created the conditions to make it happen” said Frédéric Przybylski, who manages the Poissy plant. “It’s also a big responsibility and we are committed to achieve the highest levels of efficiency and quality for the satisfaction of our customers.”

“Our multi-vehicle, multi-energy production advanced concept, that we are developing accross our plants, will enhance our agility in the context of energy transition. This is a key asset that will make the difference in the coming years and a strong lever to support our electrification offensive” added Yann Vincent, Executive Vice President, Manufacturing & Supply Chain. “We’re right on track to meet our objective of having an electrified version of all our new vehicles starting in 2019 and offering electric or plug-in hybrid versions for 100% of our models for our 5 brands by 2025.”

Poissy plant facts & figures:

• Built in: 1938
• Located in: Greater Paris region, Yvelines (78), France
• Surface area:  155 hectares
• Certifications: ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
• Environment: 98% of waste recovered and recycled
• Production: 175,000 vehicles in 2018 at a rate of 38 vehicles per hour
• Models: Peugeot 208, DS 3 and DS 3 Crossback

*B-segment Sport Utility Vehicle

**CMP: Common Modular Platform

***ICE: Internal Combustion Engine

****BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle

Next Generation Opel Corsa Brings Top Technologies to Small Cars

• Revolutionary: Opel’s next small car will launch with IntelliLux LED Matrix lighting
• Adaptive: Pioneering glare-free lighting technology as on Opel Astra and Opel Insignia
• Climate friendly: Sixth-generation Opel Corsa with Battery Electric Version
• Accessible: Opel offers top technology for everyone since 1899

Next Generation Opel Corsa will feature for the first time adaptive, glare-free Full-LED headlight system: IntelliLux LED Matrix 

Opel will this year launch the sixth generation of the Corsa. Starting with the first model in 1982, the Corsa has now recorded sales of more than 13.5 million units. The next generation will bring a revolution in lighting to small cars: the multiple award-winning IntelliLux LED Matrix lighting technology. The newly developed Corsa will feature for the first time the adaptive, glare-free Full-LED headlight system that has impressed experts and customers since its introduction on the current Opel Astra (European Car Of The Year 2016). Following their arrival in the compact class, matrix headlights (which are usually found only on expensive premium cars) will therefore appear for the first time in the very popular mainstream B market segment – the biggest in Europe. Another demonstration of the democratisation of technology from Opel – the exciting, approachable, German brand.

“We are celebrating 120 years of automobile production this year and therefore 120 years full of innovations for everyone”, said Opel CEO, Michael Lohscheller. “We have always made top technologies accessible to all. That is our mission and our motivation and it applies especially to a model that is as popular as the Opel Corsa. We will therefore equip the next generation of our bestseller with the best lighting technology – IntelliLux LED Matrix headlights.”

Customers and experts are already enthusiastic about the IntelliLux LED Matrix lighting technology in the Opel Insignia flagship and Astra compact cars: in Europe, 20 per cent of Astra drivers and 60 per cent of Insignia customers order this innovative system. Around 90,000 new Opel cars equipped with Matrix technology thus enter the European market per year. 

The glare-free Matrix headlights automatically and continuously adapt to the prevailing traffic situation and surroundings. Approaching traffic and preceding vehicles are simply “cut out” of the illuminated area. Glare is minimised and drivers enjoy optimum visibility - as will soon be the case with the new-generation Opel Corsa.

Electrifying: New Opel Corsa will be real people‘s electric car

Opel will already open the order books for two new electrified models in the first half of 2019 – for the battery electric version of the next Corsa, and for the Grandland X SUV as Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). “Opel is going electric!” said Opel CEO, Michael Lohscheller. “That is what we announced at the presentation of our PACE! strategic plan in November 2017, and now we are delivering.”

The Corsa in particular will give Opel additional impetus this year. The bestseller, the first generation of which made its world premiere 37 years ago, will be available for the first time with a purely electric variant. Lohscheller promises that the pricing will be competitive: “With the new Opel Corsa we will make electric mobility accessible to many customers – it will be a real electric car for the people.”

Next Generation Opel Corsa - First Teaser

PSA Retail opens the first four-brand dealership, in Madrid, Spain

• A world first and an ambition in support of the Opel brand
• An ambitious business development plan for Opel/Vauxhall in Europe
• Set to join the top 10 Opel/Vauxhall dealers and aiming for the top 5 in the medium term

PSA Retail  in Madrid, Spain

Strengthen intra-group multi-branding for the benefit of customers and operating efficiency

PSA Retail opened in Madrid the first European and global dealership bringing together the Opel, Peugeot, Citroën and DS brands under one roof, with distinct and clearly identified customer pathways. The site also houses a logistics hub for emov, Groupe PSA’s car-sharing brand in Spain.

PSA Retail aims to boost the multi-branding aspect of its offering, and contribute to the success of the Opel-Vauxhall PACE! plan in its core business.

At the end of 2018, nearly 45% of PSA Retail’s network in Europe was already multi-branded; the aim is to bring this percentage to at least 80% by 2021.

Operating in 21 of Europe’s 30 largest cities, PSA Retail is seeking to strengthen its operating efficiency by optimising its property footprint in areas with high operating costs, while providing customers preferential access to the full breadth of the Groupe PSA brands’ complementary automobile offering.

A business development plan in Europe

With 18 new outlets in Europe, 2018 saw the construction of an Opel-Vauxhall development base for PSA Retail.

Working by acquisition and/or pooling, a network base was built across various countries: in the United Kingdom, with 10 Vauxhall sites in Greater London; in France, with the Paris Porte de Versailles, Saint Quentin en Yvelines and Bois Colombes locations; in Spain, with three locations in Valencia and Madrid with the Calle Sinesio Delgado site; and lastly in Switzerland, with the Zücherstrasse location, also opened in December.

This network, built up from scratch in just 12 months, allowed PSA Retail to sell 4,200 Opel and Vauxhall vehicles in 2018.

Set to join the top 10 Opel dealers and aiming for the top 5 in the medium term

In 2019, Germany, Italy and Portugal will join the countries where PSA Retail is already developing an Opel-Vauxhall distribution business. By the end of 2019, PSA Retail is set to operate a total of 25 Opel-Vauxhall outlets.

This fresh ramp-up is expected to bring volumes to 7,300 units, which would make PSA Retail one of the Opel brand’s 10 biggest European dealers in 2019.

In the medium term, PSA Retail aims to be one of the top 5 Opel-Vauxhall dealers. In January 2020, PSA Retail will also integrate the entire range of Opel and Vauxhall original parts into its 35 PSA Retail/Distrigo spare parts distribution platforms.

Anne Abboud, Senior Vice President of PSA Retail, said: “The inauguration of this four-brand dealership on Calle Doctor Esquerdo in Madrid marks big progress for PSA Retail in the business development of Opel-Vauxhall in Europe. It shows how Groupe PSA’s distribution entity is contributing to the execution of the brand’s PACE! plan. By the end of 2019, PSA Retail will have a network of 25 Opel-Vauxhall locations in Europe.”

Xavier Duchemin, Senior Vice President, Sales, Marketing & Aftersales of Opel, said: “This is yet another example of how Opel is benefitting from being a member of Groupe PSA. It makes us more efficient and unleashes Opel’s growth potential. Consumers are our focal point, which is why we are starting to offer Opel models and services in places where no Opel dealerships were previously present. At the same time, we plan to continue to work on the Opel brand’s identity and differentiation.”

Calle del Doctor Esquerdo site in short

Located in the heart of Madrid’s Retiro district, PSA Retail’s large commercial space in the Spanish capital features 40,000 sq.m of facilities, which have been totally renovated both aesthetically and in terms of the technologies used to display the vehicles of the brands represented and to perform after-sales work.

In addition to the showrooms, providing a specific pathway for each brand, the space has a large workshop, with a team specialising in the repair and maintenance of the various models of the Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles and Opel ranges. It is an attractive and technologically rich space designed to offer the best service to customers in Madrid.

Opel’s new showroom, with a total surface area of 800 sq.m for new vehicles, has been designed to offer the best possible introduction to the technology and performance of the models of Groupe PSA’s German brand. Designed as a multimedia space, the most comprehensive information on each vehicle is presented on touch screens where customers can browse the technical characteristics and all other relevant information for each car. The Opel used car department has its own space, where each vehicle has undergone a full maintenance review comprising 93 control points and comes with a guarantee of at least one year.

Opel customers can benefit from the support of a leading auto workshop in Madrid, which has spaces dedicated to fast and complex after-sales work, including vehicle electrical and electronics equipment, as well as body, metal and paintwork. The site boasts state-of-the-art diagnostic machines and the most advanced vehicle paint technology, with features such as spectrophotometers and high-performance varnishes for an optimal finish. They can also take advantage of such services as online appointment management, the possibility of financing repairs and the use of a courtesy vehicle, as well as ongoing promotions offering fixed prices for maintenance work.

All of these services are available across a wide span of opening hours, from 8am to 7pm Monday to Friday.

New Benchmark: Third-Generation Opel Vivaro

• Typical Vivaro: Highly flexible, economical – to order as of February in Germany
• Tailor-made: 4.60 to 5.30 metres long, mostly only 1.90m high
• Strong: Up to 1,400kg payload, 2,500kg towing capacity and 6.6m3 cargo capacity
• Advanced: Wide range of assistance systems, electric sliding doors
• For the rough stuff: Work-site set-up and IntelliGrip traction control
• Mobile office: Multimedia connectivity and real-time navigation
• Attractive offer: Opel continues LCV model offensive
• Opel goes electric: New Vivaro as battery electric vehicle in 2020
• Fit for the future: New Opel Vivaro is perfect partner for professionals

New Opel Vivaro

The rapidly growing market for midsize delivery vans will receive even more impetus with the third generation of the Opel Vivaro. Since 2001, the Vivaro has built a strong reputation as a cargo carrier or office on wheels, with around one million units rolling off the assembly line. With sizes tailored to different needs, and numerous innovative technologies, the new Vivaro can perform every job better than ever before. Moreover, the research and development centre in Rüsselsheim is responsible for the global development of light commercial vehicles for the whole Groupe PSA.

Based on a state-of-the-art platform, available to order as of February 2019 and at dealership in late summer, the Opel Vivaro offers a range tailored to customer needs – a Cargo panel van, a crew cab for up to six occupants, a platform chassis and a Combi people-carrier, plus – for the first time – three instead of two lengths (4.60 metres, 4.95m and 5.30m). With a maximum cargo capacity of 6.6 cubic metres, the new Vivaro has a payload of up to 1,400 kilogrammes – 200kg more than its predecessor. The same applies to towing weights: the maximum trailer load of 2,500kg is half a tonne higher than before. Only the height is modest, with most variants measuring about 1.90m. The new Opel Vivaro can therefore access parking in basements or shopping centres with low roofs, which makes loading and unloading easier.

Stability and safety on a variety of slippery surfaces – mud, sand or snow – is provided by the advanced IntelliGrip traction control system. Higher ground clearance and underbody protection is available with the additional work-site set-up. Opel will also offer the new Vivaro with all-wheel drive from Dangel as soon as the order books open.

Unrestricted access to the cargo area is provided by the wide rear and sliding side doors. Especially practical are the sliding side doors that, for the first time on the Vivaro, open automatically. A foot movement towards the sensors is all that’s needed from outside the vehicle. Objects up to 4.02 m long can be stowed securely in the 5.30 m version thanks to the FlexCargo load-through under the front passenger seat.

Inside the new Opel Vivaro, drivers and passengers feel as if they are in a passenger car: systems such as Head up display, 180o Rear View Camera, Forward Collision Alert, Automatic Emergency Braking and Cruise Control make for relaxed driving. Thanks to the ergonomic seating position, all the controls are within good view and easy reach of drivers. The latter are well connected thanks to state-of-the-art infotainment systems.

With the new Vivaro, Opel continues to implement the PACE! strategic plan by investing in growing market segments with high volumes. Already in 2020 the range of efficient powertrains will extend to include a purely battery electric version. Opel will thus begin the electrification of its LCV portfolio and the Vivaro will not only be ready for work in villages or urban outskirts, it also be able to cover the much-discussed “last mile” in inner cities.

Three lengths, FlexCargo: Flexible, intelligent Opel Vivaro

Groupe PSA is the leader in the European LCV business. Thanks to the shared platform, the new Opel Vivaro therefore comes in three lengths. The particularly compact 4.60m version closes the gap between the van and the transporter segments, and with a turning circle of only 11.3m it is also very agile. This variant already offers 4.6m3 of cargo capacity, which can be increased to 5.1m3 thanks to the practical FlexCargo load-through on the front passenger side. This enables objects up to 3.32m long instead of 2.16m to be carried. The 4.95m and 5.30m versions have maximum cargo capacities of 5.8 and 6.6m3 respectively. The interior of the Vivaro thus comfortably accommodates ladders or panels up to 3.67 or 4.02m in length, as well as numerous small items in the multitude of storage spaces throughout the cockpit.

The new Vivaro generation, with up to 2,500kg towing capacity, is not only a versatile transporter; in the flick of a wrist it also turns into an office on wheels. Thanks to FlexCargo, the back of the middle seat folds down to become a table for documents, a notebook or a tablet.

Practicality begins with accessing the vehicle. In order to load via the sliding side doors, it is not necessary to put cargo or packages down, as a kick-like movement of the foot is sufficient to open the doors automatically (sensor-controlled sliding doors are offered for the first time by the new generation).

Fully equipped: Top technologies and assistance systems help the driver

Thanks to the multitude of seating adjustments – some of them electric – lumbar support and armrest, the driver-oriented cockpit is as comfortable as that of a passenger car. The numerous assistance systems – unusual in this class – ensure that the same applies to safety.

Opel Vivaro is available with a Head Up Display (HUD) – unique in this segment – so that drivers can see all important information and keep their eyes on the road. The additional front-camera and radar-based systems include:

• Lane Keep Assist
• Traffic Sign Recognition
• Drowsiness Alert, which advises the driver to take a break after two hours of non-stop driving, or by monitoring the driving behaviour, warns of drowsiness via visual and acoustic signals.
• Adaptive Cruise Control, which adjusts the speed according to that of the preceding vehicle.
• Forward Collision Alert, which gives a two-level warning of a potential front impact.
• Automatic Emergency Braking, which can avoid a crash or reduce its effects.

New Opel Vivaro features ultrasonic sensors in the front and rear aprons. They warn the driver of obstacles when parking and monitor the side blind spot. Depending on the equipment level, the rear-view camera image is displayed either in the interior mirror or on the seven-inch display.

The Multimedia Radio and Multimedia Navi Pro infotainment systems come with the large 7.0-inch touchscreen. Both feature phone integration via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Multimedia Navi Pro additionally features European navigation with 3D view.

New Vivaro’s appeal is not only based on load-carrying capability and passenger-car-like technologies. In addition to state-of-the-art engines, smooth-shifting transmissions, such as an eight-speed automatic, contribute to efficiency and comfort – highly important, especially for the fleet market. Service intervals of up to 50,000 km further reduce operating costs. Features such as the high-positioned headlamps and the maximum height of 1.90m for most variants lower the risk of damage, for example during parking. All of which makes the new-generation Vivaro one of the most economical competitors on the market.