Opel could return to Australia

Opel says it could return to the Australian market in the future, but not as a direct response to General Motors axing Holden this week.

Days after GM, which sold Opel to the PSA Group in 2017, announced it would cease almost all its operations in Australia this year, an Opel spokesman told carsales.com.au the company was proceeding with plans to move into 20 new global markets by 2022.

Japan was the latest of those this week, and will join other new markets including Russia, Columbia and Ecuador in 2021.

Under GM, Opel famously dabbled in the Australian new car market for 12 months before succumbing to pricing pressure and rampant competition in August 2013.

“We were waiting for this question as soon as GM announced it would leave the Australian market,” Opel spokesman Harald Schmidt said.

“I can’t tell you anything on the matter; Australia has not been analysed properly. This is very recent news and to enter a new market it needs some time finalising.

“For the time being we are not talking about Australia.”

Up until December last year, Opel was contracted to supply Holden’s Australian showrooms with the German-built Astra and Insignia (the latter replated as the Commodore) under a deal struck between PSA and GM.

A key component of the contract was a non-compete clause preventing PSA from selling the same cars in the local market badged as Opels.

However, following Holden’s exit by the end of 2020, PSA could slot Opel back into the Australian market, where it could roll out the same “electrification offensive” that is has promised in Japan.

This includes EV versions of the new Corsa hatch and plug-in hybrid versions of the Crossland X small SUV and Grandland X large SUV.

Opel could also reintroduce the Astra and Insignia here, and it also has at its disposal the Mokka X small SUV, Zafira people-mover and the Combo, Vivaro and Movano commercial vans.

However, Schmidt explained Opel’s expansion rationale was not so simple.

“Japan is a very big market, the third biggest in the world,” he said, reiterating that Opel only confirmed the news after identifying significant opportunities for its products in Japan.

In addition, a senior source at Inchcape, PSA’s Australian importer, has told carsales.com.au there are no immediate plans to sell Opel vehicles Down Under, where it currently distributes Peugeot, Citroen and also Subaru vehicles.

Opel is set to announce more global markets in its expansion plans in the coming months. Though he was non-committal on Australian prospects in the short-term, Schmidt said all options remained on the table.

“I’m not in a position to comment on Australia. We promised we would enter 20 new markets by 2022. We have entered some of those but there are more to come,” he said.

“Nothing is excluded but everything has to be considered.”