!NEW! High-Tech Equipment for the Opel Design Center

• New center for high-speed milling opened in Rüsselsheim
• Innovative vehicle concepts can be realized much quicker

Official opening: GM Director Global Design Operations Mark E Leavy, Vice President Design Mark Adams, Opel Group CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, Head of the Opel Works Council Dr. Wolfgang-Schäfer Klug and Design Operations Director Richard Bolz (from left to right) opened the new high-speed Milling Center in Rüsselsheim.

Opel is laying the foundations for the automotive design of the future with further investments in Rüsselsheim. On Thursday, Opel Group CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, Vice President Design Mark Adams, Design Operations Director Richard Bolz and Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug, Head of the Opel Works Council, opened a new high-speed milling center, where the design models and concept cars of the future will be produced. Opel has invested a total of euro five million in the ultra-modern milling machines and the modernization of the buildings.

Opening gift: Vice President Design Mark Adams presents Opel Group CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann with a model of the Monza Concept made at the Milling Center.

“Outstanding design is part of Opel’s brand essence. We are investing in latest technologies to keep it that way. It will give us the opportunity to realize our creative ideas even quicker, more precise and more focused,” said Dr. Neumann. “I am delighted that the Milling Center is now open. The new machines will guarantee outstanding quality when milling our design model and secure employment at our Rüsselsheim site. The investment is further proof of Opel’s comeback to success,” added Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug, Head of the Opel Works Council.

Fast and precise: The computerized milling machines can create the most complex shapes in prime quality and of the highest precision.

High-speed milling is a technological innovation that reduces the development time of vehicles considerably. Design models can be produced in various scales in a relatively short space of time, allowing the proportions and design elements to have their full impact. The computerized, five-axis milling machine operate at up to 60 meters per minute and can create the most complex shapes in prime quality and of the highest precision. The machines can be operated with various materials such as aluminum, Plexiglas and plastics with different degrees of hardness.

The visitors of the opening ceremony received an insight into the numerous possibilities that the new high-tech centers opens: Opel Monza concept car, presented at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, was impressively set in scene in the middle of the new high-speed milling machine.

High-tech milling machine: The Opel Designers in Rüsselsheim can look to the latest technology – here with the Opel Monza Concept.

The Opel Design Center in Rüsselsheim can look back on a unique history spanning more than fifty years. As the first of its kind in the European automotive industry, it attracted car designers from all over the world.

The new Milling Center is a further step in Opel’s large-scale product offensive with 27 new models and 17 new engines being brought to market between 2014 and 2018. The next highlight will be the new Astra that will celebrate its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. 

!NEW! Opel CEO Dr. Neumann Announces All-new Next Generation Opel Astra

• 11th generation Opel compact car to star at Frankfurt Motor Show in September
• Opel CEO Dr. Neumann promises an efficient, lightweight and spacious car

Proud moment: Opel CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann presents a heavily camouflaged all-new next generation Astra prototype.

Continuing an eight-decade long tradition of Opel compact models, Opel CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann will unveil the all-new Astra at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt (September 17 to 27, 2015). Currently, only fully camouflaged engineering development prototypes can be seen, but Dr. Neumann promises that the new Astra will feature “an awesome design”, highest efficiency and an abundance of innovations.

Dr. Neumann has set new development priorities for this 11th generation Opel compact car that has been created from a white sheet of paper, resulting in a revolutionary car that is much more efficient in all respects (video). Space is used in an efficient way: while its exterior dimensions will be reduced, the space devoted to the new Astra’s occupants in its cockpit will be increased substantially. The engineering teams in charge of the development of the new Astra have also dramatically reduced its weight. This will make it more agile and have an extremely favorable impact on its fuel consumption. Dr. Neumann also confirmed that, as the result of the greatest powertrain offensive in Opel’s history, the new Astra will be powered only by state-of-the-art engines of the new generation.

Clear thing: In 1969, Opel advertises the Kadett B with a short and sharp slogan „Das Auto“. 

The compact models Kadett and Astra, of which more than 24 million have been produced so far, have been the core of Opel’s portfolio ever since the first compact vehicle drove off the assembly line. “With each Kadett generation, Opel made individual mobility accessible to millions of people around the world, and several generations of Astra have brought innovative technologies from the upper class into the affordable compact segment,” said Dr. Neumann. “Each generation has raised the bar in safety, comfort and efficiency. The new Astra will once again set standards in the compact class.

Note: The South African launch date has not been confirmed yet. More information will be made available at a later stage.

Ancestral gallery: The ten generations of Opel compact class cars at a glance – from the Kadett 1 to the Astra J (from left to right).

Amongst others, it will be the first new Opel model to be launched with Opel OnStar’s unique connected service that is ready to help and rescue you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

!NEW! Special Anniversary: Opel and GM Say Thank You 500 Million Times

• Unique group highlight: 500 million cars built since 1908
• Celebration in Rüsselsheim: Anniversary Zafira as gift for loyal Opel customer
• Historical review: Legendary cars and top technologies

Teamwork 500 million vehicles built by GM including 68 million built by Opel – that means countless skillful movement by the workers on the production line and countless stories of customers and their cars.

General Motors today celebrated an impressive production milestone: since the company’s founding in 1908, more than 500 million vehicles have been delivered to customers around the world – no other automaker can look back at such production numbers. Opel, one of the group’s tradition-rich brands, played a large role in this: the German carmaker built 68 million cars, most of them at the main plant in Rüsselsheim, where this achievement was now celebrated.

Thank you! Opel Group CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann thanks Anna Katharina Dionysius for her brand loyalty and presents her with a brand new Zafira Tourer 2.0 CDTI.

Loyal customers were invited to dinner with the Board in the historic ambience of the Opel Classic Car garage. And Anna Katharina Dionysius from Riedstadt got a special surprise during a visit to the vehicle production hall: the long-term Opel customer picked up the Opel Zafira Tourer she had recently ordered directly from the assembly line – as an anniversary gift handed over by Opel CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann.

Every dark cloud has a silver lining: Opel driver Anna Katharina Dionysius survived a serious accident almost without a scratch thanks to the safety technology of her Astra. Today, Opel Group CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann presented her with a new Zafira Tourer as a sign of gratitude for her brand loyalty.

Anna Katharina Dionysius had an accident with her Astra a few days prior to the event. The car was badly damaged but she only suffered minor injuries. She took to Facebook to praise her “red hero” and thanked the Opel engineers for their “great work”. The Zafira Tourer with the whisper-quiet two-liter diesel engine that pumps out 125 kW/170 hp and meets the stringent Euro 6 emissions standard is new on the market.

Dr. Neumann: “For me this anniversary is more than just an impressive number, because 500 million cars stand for 500 million customers, for their stories and experiences. We say ‘thank you’ 500 million times to these customers for their loyalty and trust, because it is a privilege for us to play such an important role in their lives.”

GM celebrated the 500 million milestone around the globe. Practically simultaneously to the celebrations in Rüsselsheim, loyal customers were also invited to the group’s production facilities in North and South America, Asia, Africa and China. Anna Katharina Dionysius is one of five customers to receive a car free of charge to mark this production milestone. “During 2015, we expect to sell more than 1,000 new vehicles per hour, 24 hours per day,” said Barra. “This adds up to nearly 10 million vehicles, the most in our history. I look at this extraordinary volume as 10 million opportunities to prove what kind of company we are and to say thank you.” said GM CEO Mary Barra.

Mary Barra continued to point out the many game-changing innovations GM has brought to the automotive industry including the first ever V-8 engine, the first automatic transmission, the first automotive crash test dummies and the first airbags in a production vehicle.

Opel started building cars in 1899 and has been part of GM since 1929 – and many milestones pave the way of this shared journey, as do legendary cars like the Kadett, Rekord, GT, Manta and Kapitän. Through it all, Opel has always stood for technological innovations that offer customers high utility value and benefits – for example in 1989 when the Rüsselsheim automaker was the first brand to equip its cars with a catalytic converter as standard. The guiding principle “We make technology that is otherwise only available in the luxury class affordable for everyone” remains a cornerstone of the brand’s philosophy to this day. True to this tradition, another highlight is coming up: Opel OnStar. The personal service and mobility assistant will become available this year, turning the vehicle into a mobile internet hotspot.

Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann: “Every year, Opel sells more than one million cars – with a continuing upwards trend as we are in the middle of our model and engine offensive. The highlight of this year is the presentation of the new Astra. I promise you, also on behalf of our 35,000 employees: this car will once again thrill our customers, and gain a lot of new fans for the brand.”