All-New Opel Mokka: Opel Focuses on Model Nameplates

• Main thing Opel Mokka: nameplate is now centrally located at the rear
• Clearly legible: Opel font modernized for better digital display
• New philosophy: development of next-generation Opel Mokka follows Opel design compass

All-New Opel Mokka: nameplate is now centrally located at the rear

A car from a single mold. Precise, straightforward, high quality – that is the new Opel Mokka. Clearly aligned according to the design compass developed by Opel, with ideal proportions. Face of the next Mokka generation shows extremely attractive features that are disciplined and personable at the same time – like a German supermodel working on the set. This discipline is everywhere, in every detail, especially in the Mokka nameplate. It is all-new, like the whole car, with a specially designed font that forms the word “Mokka” in a technical, flowing, lively way. A name and an emblem at the centre of a new generation of vehicles. Same goes for the new Mokka itself, the first Opel that confidently bears its name centrally on the tailgate below the legendary lightning flash symbol. Readable for everyone and without annoying additives such as equipment lines or displacement abbreviations. New Opel Mokka only says “Mokka” – or “Mokka” with the small “e” in the case of the purely battery-electric version.

“Nameplate illustrates the absolute precision of the new Opel Mokka”, explains Opel Design Vice President, Mark Adams. “Sharply crafted lettering is stretched in a wide landscape format and is confidently spaced to emphasize the width of the vehicle. It’s central placement is consistent with Opel’s compass philosophy, where the key visual elements are arranged along the vertical and horizontal axis. Electric Mokka-e is defining a new era for the Opel brand. Form and function linking together perfectly – simply German.”

Next Opel Mokka generation is a completely new design and deliveries to the first customers will begin in early 2021.

Opel compass: Visual identity of future models

Coming Mokka generation reveals for the first time the new blueprint for the front and rear view of future Opel models. In the design compass, two axes intersect with the Opel lightning flash in the middle. Legendary brand logo is becoming the central feature more than ever. Now sharper and clearer crease in the bonnet, which continues below the flash, determines the vertical axis. Characteristic wing-shaped graphics of the daytime running lights, which future Opel models will also feature, symbolize the horizontal axis. Theme repeats in the rear view and shows the Opel compass in its purest form. Flash in the middle combined with the centrally arranged model nameplate connects the horizontal line of the wing-shaped rear lights with the vertical line that extends from the roof antenna down to the accentuated crease in the bumper.

Pacesetters: Long Tradition of Opel Electric Cars

• E-pioneers: Ancestors of Opel Corsa-e and Grandland X plug-in hybrid
• Since 1968: More than five decades of research into electric propulsion systems
• Way ahead of its time: Opel Ampera
• HydroGen test fleets: Hydrogen fuel cell propulsion has high future potential
• Opel goes electric: All models electrified by 2024

Opel Electro GT

With the new Opel Corsa-e and the Grandland X plug-in hybrid, the newest electrified cars from Opel are just taking to the roads. All-electric Opel Vivaro and the electrified Opel Mokka X successor will follow later this year, while the Opel Combo-e, Opel Zafira-e Life and the Astra successor will join the team in 2021. All passenger car and light commercial vehicle models will be electrified by 2024. Opel is going electric and can look back on a long tradition of test, record and production vehicles. Opel has been conducting research and development work in the field of electric propulsion for more than five decades. This makes the Rüsselsheim automaker one of the e-pioneers in the industry.

Already back in 1968, Opel Kadett B Stir-Lec I featured the principle of the “range extender” that would later go into production with the Opel Ampera. The Stir-Lec study was powered by 14 lead-acid batteries and the electricity that kept the batteries constantly charged was generated by a rear-mounted Stirling combustion engine.

Opel Kadett B Stir-Lec I

Only three years later, Georg von Opel, the grandson of the company founder, broke six electric vehicle world records at the wheel of a 188 km/h Opel Electro GT powered by two coupled electric motors producing 88 kW/120 hp. Energy was supplied by a 590 kilogramme nickel-cadmium battery pack and at a constant speed of 100 km/h, the car had a range of 44 kilometres.

Opel Electro GT powered by two coupled electric motors producing 88 kW

Sustainable electric impulse: Opel Impuls and Opel Twin

Opel Kadett Impuls

Research took a step forward with the Opel Impuls programme during 1990-97. Impuls I was a Kadett-based vehicle powered by a 16 kW direct-current electric motor using nickel-cadmium battery cells with a liquid electrolyte. It had a range of around 80 km and a top speed of 100 km/h. This was followed a year later by Impuls II, based on an Astra estate. It used 32 lead-acid batteries to power two three-phase asynchronous motors giving a total of approximately 45 kW/61 hp. 

Opel Astra Impuls II

From 1993 to 1997, Opel carried out its first large-scale electric vehicle test program with Impuls III. A fleet of ten Impuls III cars was tested on the German island of Rügen, covering a total of more than 300,000 km. Five vehicles were fitted with nickel-cadmium batteries (45 kW/61 hp) and the other five used sodium/nickel-chloride high-energy batteries (42 kW/57 hp). All ten Impuls III vehicles were equipped with a three-phase asynchronous motor.

Opel Astra Impuls III

Meanwhile, in 1992 the widely acclaimed Opel Twin concept car was revealed. A three-cylinder, 0.8-litre petrol engine delivering 25 kW/34 hp was available for highway driving, while an electric unit with two 10 kW/14 hp wheel-hub motors came into play for city and short-distance driving. The Opel Twin driver had a central forward position, with three passenger seats in the back. In 1995, Opel took electro-mobility into the commercial vehicle segment with the Combo Plus concept van, which featured two sodium/nickel-chloride high-energy batteries operating in combination with a 45 kW three-phase asynchronous motor.

Fuel cells in everyday testing: emission-free HydroGen fleets

Opel HydroGen1

In 2000, Opel’s fuel-cell development took to the streets with the Zafira-bodied HydroGen1. Its hydrogen fuel cell supplied electricity for a three-phase asynchronous motor giving 55 kW/75 hp and 251 Nm of torque. A buffer battery covered power peaks. In 2001, a fleet of 20 HydroGen3 models was driven by test customers. Power was increased to 60 kW/82 hp, giving a top speed of 160 km/h.

Opel HydroGen3 

In the 2004 Fuel Cell Marathon, two HydroGen3 vehicles covered nearly 10,000 km across Europe, from Hammerfest in Norway to Lisbon in Portugal. At the wheel of a HydroGen3, Grand Prix and Opel DTM driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen also won the 2005 Monte Carlo Rally for cars with alternative propulsion.

Opel HydroGen3 - Monte Carlo Rally for cars with alternative propulsion

Fourth generation of fuel cell vehicles, HydroGen4, is also completely emission-free, with only water vapour coming out of the exhaust. Fuel cell stack consisting of 440 cells connected in series, in which hydrogen reacts with oxygen from the air, is responsible for the environmentally friendly drive. There is no combustion, but an electrochemical reaction that generates electricity. In this way, a continuous output of 73 kW/100 hp and a peak output of 94 kW/128 hp are possible.

Starting in 2008, a fleet of HydroGen4 vehicles began demonstrating its suitability for everyday use in a project sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Transport – the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) – in Berlin and later also in the states of Hamburg, Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse.

Opel HydroGen4 

Range champions: Opel Ampera with range extender and Opel Ampera-e

At the same time, Opel also pursued the development of battery-powered vehicles and presented the innovative Flextreme Concept at the 2007 IAA in Frankfurt, which featured the Voltec extended-range electric propulsion. Opel Flextreme GT/E Concept, presented at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, illustrated how this drive concept can also be integrated into a mid-size car.

Opel Ampera 

Electric drive with range extender reached series production in 2011 in the Opel Ampera, the first electric car for four people fully suitable for everyday use and travel. Energy for distances between 40 and 80 kilometres (depending on driving conditions) was supplied by the 16 kWh lithium-ion battery, which fed the 111 kW/150 hp electric motor. Whenever the battery charge level reached a defined minimum, the 63 kW/86 hp petrol engine switched on automatically and drove a generator to power the electric motor. This type of continuous energy supply ensures carefree driving – without a charging station and with ranges of several hundred kilometres. Opel Ampera was ahead of its time and was awarded the “European Car of the Year 2012” title.

Opel Ampera-e 

Opel Ampera-e followed in 2016/2017. With a segment-leading pure electric range of 423 kilometres (WLTP), Ampera-e debuted as a true range champion at the Paris Motor Show. Since the batteries are mounted extra flat in an underfloor design, it offers space for five passengers and a boot with the capacity of a full-size five-door compact class model (381 litres). Opel Ampera-e also demonstrates how electric mobility and driving pleasure can form a single unit, as the maximum torque of 360 Nm ensures impressive acceleration and elasticity values. The output of the electric motor is 150 kW/204 hp. Compact car accelerates from zero to 50 km/h in 3.2 seconds, and covers the intermediate sprint from 80 to 120 km/h when overtaking in just 4.5 seconds.

It is a convincing concept: in autumn 2017, Opel was awarded the internationally renowned “Golden Steering Wheel” in the small and compact car class for the Opel Ampera-e. And the AUTOBEST jury had already voted the Opel Ampera-e ECOBEST 2016. Opel dealers still have a few Ampera-e, but their place in the showroom will soon be taken by the new Corsa-e, which has already won the AUTOBEST “Best Buy Car of Europe” award.

Testing: All-New Opel Mokka on the Road to Production Readiness

• Opel engineers put the finishing touches to next-generation Mokka
• New Opel Mokka up to 120 kilogrammes lighter than previous model
• Chassis and assistance systems set up during winter tests in the Arctic
• All-electric Opel Mokka-e offers engaging drive
• Suspension tuning currently underway at Test Center Rodgau-Dudenhofen
• New Opel Mokka in dealer showrooms in early 2021

All-New Opel Mokka at the Test Center Rodgau-Dudenhofen in Germany

Dynamic, efficient and high quality: these are just a few of the development objectives of the all-new Opel Mokka. With typical precision, German engineers have been putting the finishing touches to the next-generation bestseller. At the Test Center Rodgau-Dudenhofen in Germany, they are currently setting up the new Mokka for optimum acoustic comfort in the interior, excellent driving safety at high speeds and Opel-typical steering and pedal feel. Since February, the Opel experts for chassis, powertrain, electronics and lighting have been using the Arctic winter for the tuning of chassis and assistance systems on frozen lakes and narrow country roads in Swedish Lapland.

Next Opel Mokka generation is a completely new design based on the company's highly efficient CMP multi-energy platform (Common Modular Platform). This modular kit offers maximum flexibility in vehicle development. CMP also allows the use of purely battery-electric drive as well as internal combustion engines. Customer has the choice. Thanks to the use of high-strength steels, the vehicle weight is low and the body stability is high. New Opel Mokka weighs up to 120 kilograms less than the previous model – with almost the same wheelbase and tyre sizes. With the electric Opel Mokka-e, batteries are installed deep in the vehicle floor, which lowers the centre of gravity and at the same time increases torsional rigidity by a further 30 % – excellent prerequisites for dynamic driving. Customers can look forward to a very agile second-generation Opel Mokka, which will be available in dealerships from early 2021. Until then, the testing continues at full speed.

Phase 1: Testing and fine-tuning at Arctic Circle

Opel engineer Gunnar Nees never tires of turning lap after lap on ice. He regularly stops for a few minutes. Reaches for the laptop, reads out measured values, logs every kilometre covered. In the vast Arctic wilderness, it is still freezing cold in March. Exactly the right conditions for orchestrating the harmony between ABS, ESP, assistance systems and the rest of the new Opel Mokka’s chassis.

Eevelopment cars are still hiding behind a green and black camouflage, with 3D-like graphics that blur the vehicle’s contours. Engineer behind the steering wheel has come to the far north to set up the chassis. Like every Opel, new Mokka must respond precisely to steering inputs and give good feedback, be comfortable and at the same time have a firm enough ride. An Opel must not display uncontrolled body movements, for example, when the vehicle is driving over a large bump at medium speed. Opel philosophy calls for safe and relaxing driving on the autobahn. An Opel must remain easily controllable in all situations and be fun to drive at the same time.

These characteristics must be present under all weather conditions everywhere – at the icy Arctic Circle as well as in high summer at the Mediterranean. However, nothing should change in terms of precise handling and consistently good-natured driving behaviour. Parts, components and systems are continuously fine-tuned by the Opel engineers: dampers, springs, steering. In addition, the control software is adapted: for ideal pedal feel when accelerating and braking, for the right amount of steering power assistance and for the interaction between all assistance systems.

Phase 2: High-speed driving on German test tracks

Back in Germany: same test engineer pilots Opel Mokka prototype on home ground at the Rodgau-Dudenhofen Test Center. Karsten Bohle, project coordinator for the second-generation Opel Mokka, joins Gunnar Nees.

“We are all looking forward to seeing New Opel Mokka on the road in customer hands. Test drives are running like clockwork, also because our new baby, with its low weight and compact external dimensions, reacts well to adjustments. Handling and comfort are super. New Opel Mokka is a joy to drive,” said Bohle, “the development work has been great fun.”

Karsten Bohle, project coordinator for the second-generation Opel Mokka

New Opel Mokka is ready to take its final exams at the Test Center. While shaken, ride comfort and interior acoustics must remain unstirred – not even by the torture track. Here, not far from the Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim, the tracks are replicas of the trickiest road surfaces in Europe. Opel engineers have tested here for decades and built up a huge wealth of experience. Engineers repeatedly adjust springs and dampers, the balance between responsiveness and sporty precision continuously improved. New Opel Mokka features particularly low road noise for optimum acoustic comfort, which the high-quality materials in the interior further increase. Squeaks and rattles are taboo.

Steering and suspension get their Opel “feel” on the Dudenhofen handling course. Two tie rods at the McPherson strut turrets are standard equipment; they provide further stiffness at the front end, adding a touch more precision and agility. New Opel Mokka turns into corners eagerly, is easy to handle at the limit and the assistance systems function perfectly. Then comes the ultimate discipline – the high-speed oval with its steep banking, followed by the long straight. This test demands rock-solid stability at all speeds. In real life, it also results in a huge safety benefit when taking avoidance manoeuvres at lower speeds. Opel engineers only award their seal of approval for the autobahn when they return satisfied from the high-speed oval. New Opel Mokka has already passed this test with flying colours. However, testing, testing and yet more testing will continue until the summer. When New Opel Mokka has achieved production readiness, cars will start rolling off the assembly line at the end of the year.