Opel

Opel keeps Bochum logistics center open to fulfill contract

May 22, 2013 06:01 CET
Opel will keep a spare-parts distribution center open until 2016 at its plant in Bochum, Germany, as long as two years after car production ends at the site. The plant, which makes the Zafira minivan, is scheduled to close by the end of 2014 after workers rejected a restructuring plan in March that would have extended manufacturing there for another two years.... Read More »

 

European car sales post 1st gain in 19 months

5:19 am U.S. ET | May 17, 2013
European car sales rose for the first time in 19 months as a gain in consumer sentiment in countries using the euro led to rebounds in Germany and Spain. Still, the European auto market is at a two-decade low, and industry executives are forecasting a drop of about 5 percent for 2013 amid a recession in the 17-nation euro zone.... Read More »

 

GM will move Opel Zafira production to German plant

May 15, 2013 11:58 CET
General Motors will move production of the Opel/Vauxhall Zafira minivan to Ruesselsheim in Germany from its Bochum factory. Ruesselsheim and Vauxhall's plant in Ellesmere Port, England, had been in the running to gain Zafira production after Bochum closes.... Read More »

 

Opel will offer cheaper loans after taking finance in-house

May 6, 2013 14:33 CET
Opel expects to boost the proportion of cars sold on financing with the offer of cheaper loans and leasing deals now that it has taken its German banking license back in-house.... Read More »

 

GM makes progress on Europe turnaround

May 3, 2013 10:40 CET
GM is making progress in restructuring its money-losing Opel/Vauxhall unit in Europe, but the automaker has a long way to go, analysts say. GM's first-quarter pretax loss in Europe narrowed while rival Ford's loss widened sharply.... Read More »

 

Opel to cut CO2 by 27% with new powertrains

May 3, 2013 06:01 CET
Opel/Vauxhall says new powertrains will cut its average CO2 output 27 percent by 2020, helping the automaker comply with tougher EU emissions regulations. With 13 new engines, Opel will renew 80 percent of its engine portfolio between 2012 and 2016.... Read More »

 

GM's Europe loss narrows; overall Q1 profit drops 14%

May 2, 2013 13:32 CET
GM's first-quarter net profit dropped 14 percent as profits in North America slipped and losses in Europe eased. European losses narrowed because of cost cuts and strong demand for new models, GM CEO Dan Akerson said.... Read More »

 

GM, PSA study alliance on vans outside Europe, report says

May 2, 2013 09:59 CET
General Motors and PSA are studying an alliance to sell large commercial vans outside of Europe, a French newspaper said.... Read More »

 

Opel rejects new vote for Bochum workers on plant's restructuring

April 25, 2013 18:10 CET
GM's Opel division is against giving workers another vote on a restructuring deal at the automaker's embattled plant in Bochum, Germany. The head of the United Auto Workers union, Bob King, had suggested in an interview on Tuesday that Bochum staff should vote again to accept the deal they previously rejected to keep some of their jobs for a little longer.... Read More »

 

GM will invest 230 million euros to expand Opel test facilities

April 24, 2013 13:19 CET
General Motors will invest 230 million euros ($299 million) on test facilities for Opel as part of its effort to break even in Europe by 2015.... Read More »

 

U.S. union leader prods Opel workers to keep German plant open

April 23, 2013 23:19 CET
Workers at Opel's factory in Bochum, Germany, should accept a deal they previously rejected to keep their jobs, Bob King, the head of the U.S.-based United Auto Workers union, said.... Read More »

 

UAW's King prods Opel workers to revote, keep German plant open

5:19 pm U.S. ET | April 23, 2013
The head of the UAW suggested German hourly workers at a General Motors plant should accept a deal they previously rejected in order to keep their jobs.... Read More »

 

2013 SHANGHAI AUTO SHOW

Opel returns to Shanghai auto show with limited ambitions

April 21, 2013 06:01 CET
Opel unit returned to China's main auto show after a five-year absence with three new cars at the center of a long-promised push into the world's largest market.... Read More »

 

Opel names new human resources boss

April 17, 2013 14:47 CET
Opel has named Ulrich Schumacher its new human resources and labor relations boss. The 55-year-old German, who has worked at Ford and Magna International, also will serve as vice president of human resources for General Motors Europe.... Read More »

 

Opel confirms Bochum plant to close in late 2014

April 17, 2013 17:13 CET
GM's Opel unit solidified plans to close its car plant in Bochum, Germany, at the end of 2014 after workers rejected a wage freeze, the first shutdown of an auto factory in the country since World War II.... Read More »

 

Opel board meets to seal fate of Bochum plant

April 17, 2013 13:30 CET
Opel's supervisory board is meeting today to approve the first closure of a German auto plant in the country since World War II. The carmaker is shutting the Bochum plant, which builds the Zafira minivan, as part of a wider restructuring plan in Europe.... Read More »

 

Opel to push growth in Russia, Akerson tells paper

April 15, 2013 10:07 CET
General Motors' Opel brand will push growth in Russia and Turkey to offset slumping European slumping business but steer clear of China, GM CEO Dan Akerson said.... Read More »

 

GM to spend $5.2 billion on Opel through '16

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 15, 2013
General Motors said it will invest 4 billion euros, or about $5.2 billion, in Opel by the end of 2016 to support new model launches, renewing its commitment to its money-losing European division.... Read More »

 

GM's Akerson meets Merkel as two sides bury past differences over Opel

April 11, 2013 18:04 CET
General Motors CEO Dan Akerson met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the automaker's Opel unit as the two sides worked to move past a dispute over a failed effort to sell the division.... Read More »

 

Opel could hybridize new diesel engine family

April 11, 2013 06:01 CET
Opel/Vauxhall's new family of diesel engines could be hybridized if needed to help meet tougher European CO2 rules expected in 2020 and 2025, the automaker's head of diesel engineering told Automotive News Europe.... Read More »

 

GM will invest 4 billion euros in Opel through 2016

April 10, 2013 14:52 CET
General Motors said it will invest 4 billion euros ($5.2 billion) in Opel to support new model launches, renewing its commitment to its European division. Opel plans to introduce 23 new or refreshed models and 13 new powertrains by 2016.... Read More »

 

GM workers in Spain accept wage freeze to boost competitiveness

April 9, 2013 18:34 CET
General Motors workers at the company's Opel plant in Spain accepted a two-year salary freeze as part of a labor deal aimed at boosting competitiveness against other European factories.... Read More »

 

Girsky's Opel saga: Imitating Hannibal

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 8, 2013
More than just billions of dollars in losses, General Motors Vice Chairman Steven Girsky is fighting a culture within Opel that sees itself as an entity totally separate from GM even after more than eight decades of control.... Read More »

 

GM, Opel CEOs to meet Germany's Merkel

April 5, 2013 12:46 CET
BERLIN (Reuters) -- General Motors CEO Dan Akerson and the new head of GM's Opel unit, Karl-Thomas Neumann, will visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel next Thursday, along with members of the GM board, a government spokesman said on Friday.
Akerson and Neumann will visit Merkel in Berlin on Thursday at 3 p.m. CET for an hour, said government spokesman Georg Streiter, adding that the meeting coincided with a meeting of the GM board in Germany.... Read More »

 

GM board will meet in Germany to review Opel's progress

April 4, 2013 13:19 CET
General Motors' board will hold its quarterly meeting in Germany next week as the U.S. carmaker examines the efforts of its Opel/Vauxhall unit to become profitable. GM's European operations have lost $18 billion since 1999, but the U.S. carmaker is expecting the division to break even by 2015.... Read More »