Opel to ditch premium price strategy (Europe)

[Nurb608]

The boss of General Motors’ European divisions admits the premium pricing strategy for Opel and Vauxhall has backfired.

Opel/Vauxhall CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke told industry journal Automotive News Europe both brands would phase out their upmarket pricing structure in the near future as they attempt to appeal to more mainstream customers.

“We need to regain our traditional customer base,” Stracke said. “We moved Opel up too quickly. Going forward there will be adjustments to make our cars more affordable.”

Stracke confirmed the revised pricing strategy would not impact GM’s planned 11 billion euro ($13.7 billion) investment into new product through to 2014, which is set to give birth to 23 all-new or heavily updated models by 2016.

“Product is king and the key to future success,” Stracke said.



The Opel Mokka sub-compact SUV and the Opel Adam micro city car are expected to lead the charge in Europe with prices pitched directly against the brand’s mainstream competitors like Ford and Mazda.

Opel will open the doors of its Australian showrooms in September, with the launch range to comprise the Corsa light car, small-sized Astra and medium/large Insignia.

Opel Australia is yet to reveal pricing details, although its cars are likely to carry a premium over the comparative models from sister company Holden.

The entry-level Astra is expected to share the Cruze’s 103kW/200Nm 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine. Holden’s six-speed manual Cruze CD 1.4iTi is priced from $22,490. The equivalent 2.0-litre five-speed manual Ford Focus Trend starts at $24,490.

The Corsa is also expected to be priced above the Barina, which starts at $15,990 for the five-door five-speed manual model.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/178449/opel-to-ditch-premium-price-strategy/

[Hoss]

Product maybe king, but in these difficult financial times price also plays a large part. Will the Astra be that much better than a Cruze to justify the higher price?

[Jen]

I'm always happy to pay that bit more as long as it's worth it. I'd hate for them to lower their prices to appeal to a larger market but in turn have to compromise on quality. Look how it worked out for Holden to bring in the cheaper models when they stopped importing Opel's

[Nurb608]

Product maybe king, but in these difficult financial times price also plays a large part. Will the Astra be that much better than a Cruze to justify the higher price?

Will depend on the model and trim levels, but there is a few things the Astra has that sets it apart from the cruze

[poita]

Hmmmm interesting.

The thing is you can't compare the Opel built Corsa to the Daewoo built Barina.

The sheer quality difference in the cars is huge.

From the XC Barina to the TK Barina is massive drop in build quality imo

[Jen]

Hmmmm interesting.

The thing is you can't compare the Opel built Corsa to the Daewoo built Barina.

The sheer quality difference in the cars is huge.

From the XC Barina to the TK Barina is massive drop in build quality imo

Yep that's why I wouldn't go near them. Price is a factor of course but I don't like it when it means a compromise on quality. If the quality isn't there but I can afford it i still wouldn't do it. Not when it comes to such a major purchase

[Vectracious]

Unfortunately in Australia, the majority of the public have been conditioned over the last few years that price is now king. Just from what I see as a business owner - you can talk about the quality of your service/product until you are blue in the face, you can try and justify your higher prices on things like you have better trained and more staff working, the shop is in a more convenient place (which means I as the owner pay more rent) - the majority of customers will not come back to shop in your store if you are not competitive on price. You can blame Colesworths for this.

Opel will have to get the pricing right - because if they don't - the people that have no idea about cars will just go and buy a Cruze/Mazda 3 - and if they want to go cheap "premium" European, they'll just go for a Golf.

[poita]

+1 Pete.

I blame the big retailers for this, you know who I mean ;)

[Jen]

+1 Pete.

I blame the big retailers for this, you know who I mean ;)

Ah you can tell who the retail workers are here

[hazrd]

+1 Pete.

I blame the big retailers for this, you know who I mean ;)


Ah you can tell who the retail workers are here



:woohoo: no longer me!!

[Hoss]

Unfortunately in Australia, the majority of the public have been conditioned over the last few years that price is now king. Just from what I see as a business owner - you can talk about the quality of your service/product until you are blue in the face, you can try and justify your higher prices on things like you have better trained and more staff working, the shop is in a more convenient place (which means I as the owner pay more rent) - the majority of customers will not come back to shop in your store if you are not competitive on price. You can blame Colesworths for this.

Opel will have to get the pricing right - because if they don't - the people that have no idea about cars will just go and buy a Cruze/Mazda 3 - and if they want to go cheap "premium" European, they'll just go for a Golf.

Well said.

[kabel]

Unfortunately in Australia, the majority of the public have been conditioned over the last few years that price is now king. Just from what I see as a business owner - you can talk about the quality of your service/product until you are blue in the face, you can try and justify your higher prices on things like you have better trained and more staff working, the shop is in a more convenient place (which means I as the owner pay more rent) - the majority of customers will not come back to shop in your store if you are not competitive on price. You can blame Colesworths for this.

Opel will have to get the pricing right - because if they don't - the people that have no idea about cars will just go and buy a Cruze/Mazda 3 - and if they want to go cheap "premium" European, they'll just go for a Golf.
Agreed.
At time of purchase the majority will not be convinced nor will see the difference in quality.
They have buyers eyes on........what can you give me for nothing !

I still think it all comes down to how much market share they want here and how much profit they want from each sale.

[Calibrated]

Unfortunately in Australia, the majority of the public have been conditioned over the last few years that price is now king. Just from what I see as a business owner - you can talk about the quality of your service/product until you are blue in the face, you can try and justify your higher prices on things like you have better trained and more staff working, the shop is in a more convenient place (which means I as the owner pay more rent) - the majority of customers will not come back to shop in your store if you are not competitive on price. You can blame Colesworths for this.

Opel will have to get the pricing right - because if they don't - the people that have no idea about cars will just go and buy a Cruze/Mazda 3 - and if they want to go cheap "premium" European, they'll just go for a Golf.

x infinity

I get far superior products out of germany (Seikel, Zenec, etc). I can explain all the reasons why they are better than their competitors, and joe public will still buy chinese shit.

and then complain on forums that their chinese shit was.... well, you know.

[gmonkey]

Agreed.
At time of purchase the majority will not be convinced nor will see the difference in quality.
They have buyers eyes on........what can you give me for nothing !

I still think it all comes down to how much market share they want here and how much profit they want from each sale.

hahah it wasn't till recently where i was looking at the new car market for my sister and driving a new toyota corolla and hyundai i30, that i realised how much tech the opel's have as standard on baseline models compared to others! for example most don't have setable inter wipers or cruisecontrol or even something so simple as height adjustable seating. Its the small things like them you don't really notice till you don't have them anymore, so if someone is coming from a lancer or echo/yaris they won't see the value of them. I personally struggle with cruise control and set able wipers most useful extra.