Opel certifies Zafira for Australia

The Zafira people-mover has been officially certified for Australian sale but Opel insists it has not yet made the decision to release the car here.

According to paperwork seen by motoring.com.au, Opel received Australian Design Rule approval for the seven-seat Zafira in December 2012 from the federal Department of Transport.

Even though the likely spend to achieve that certification would have been in the tens of thousands of dollars, Opel Australia Managing Director Bill Mott maintains Zafira is still only on the wishlist.

“I am in two minds about this car,” he said. “The segment is tiny - less than one per cent of the market - so it begs the question because you are going after a really small niche if you go in there and you are a niche brand. So that makes you think twice about it.”

Despite Mr Mott downplaying the significance of Zafira’s ADR certification, it certainly makes it a strong possibility to become Opel’s fourth model line in Australia behind Astra, Corsa and Insignia, which all launched last September.

Then again, the Mokka mini-SUV and/or the Cascada Cabrio could still beat it to market in Australia.

Whichever way it goes, Mr Mott stressed feedback from Opel’s dealer body, due to number 23 by mid-year, will be crucial to the thumbs up or down for Zafira.

“This is a conversation we have started to have with dealers and I want to keep having with them,” he confirmed. “We are asking ‘what do you think, is this is a goer? Do you think there is a big enough market?’

“Initial conversations I have had – and it’s only been a couple – have been more positive than negative. They recognise too that if you add products you add complexity, you get so many balls in the air sometimes you let some drop.

“We don’t want to overdo it, but by the same token I think there is an opportunity on this that we shouldn’t overlook and we really need to investigate.

“So we haven’t made a decision but it is a conversation I’d like to have and I’m willing to be persuaded either way.”

The first-generation Zafira was sold here between 2001 and 2005 as a Holden, but was dropped due to poor sales and cost of importing it from Europe.

The second-generation Zafira never made it to Australia, but Mr Mott is a fan of the latest version, which was launched in Europe in 2011 and is described by Opel as a “lounge on wheels”.

“It is a great car and maybe the segment is as small as it is because something is missing in that segment, namely a car that looks really good and makes people want to have a monocab rather than actually having to buy one.

“A lot of people end up there (people-movers) instead of actually wanting to end up there. So maybe this is a proposition that has people wanting to buy a monocab because they are thinking ‘it looks great and it’s clever so that’s a positive reflection on me’, rather than just saying ‘I haul kids night and day’.”

In the right-hand drive UK market, the Zafira is offered with two petrol and four diesel engines, including a freshly-launched 2.0-litre BiTurbo diesel.

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