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poita
26th June 2012, 10:49 PM
Well the list people have been waiting for!

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/D5E445CFEF3A84DECA257A29001B6845


OPEL will kick off its retail assault in Australia in September with a 17-dealer chain of metropolitan standalone sites.

Only two of the debut dealers for General Motors’ European brand – Brisbane’s AP Eagers and Sydney’s Alto Group – have Holden outlets.

As well, only one of those dealers handled the ill-fated GM Premium Brands franchises Saab and Hummer, which bit the dust in the global financial crisis, leaving many Holden dealers ruing their involvement.

Instead, at least half of the initial 17 dealers handle German prestige brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW or Audi.

Quality Japanese brands such as Honda and Subaru are also well represented among the multi-franchised dealerships that have committed to either new or extensively renovated showrooms for GM’s German brand that will open with three main models – the Corsa light hatchback, Astra small car – including the high-performance Astra GTC – and Insignia mid-sized sedan.

So far, the network extends to capital cities in all six states and the Australian Capital Territory, as well as Geelong in Victoria.

The company today embarks on a search for six more dealerships in major provincial centres to expand the footprint in 2013, mainly in Queensland and New South Wales in larger cities such as Townsville, Cairns, Toowoomba and Wollongong.

Left: Opel Australia managing director Bill Mott.

Smaller rural centres will follow, but not until later, probably 2014.

Opel Australia managing director Bill Mott told GoAuto that his company had received 200 expressions of interest from dealers across Australia.

“Our objective going in was to have between 15 and 20 dealers nationally, and one of the objectives was also to have dealers in every state and every capital, to truly have national representation,” he said.

“We were looking for very strong partners who were willing to invest and who shared our vision of the potential of this brand within Australia.”

Mr Mott, who is working with a staff of 15 out of Holden’s Melbourne head office, said the vast majority of the dealers who replied to its advertisement in GoAutoNews had gone the extra step to enter into discussions with Opel.

“We ended up with a process of reviewing and evaluating the list and were left with 17 dealers that we will launch with,” he said.

“That gives me the objective of having at least one in each state capital, so we will have true national representation.”

Mr Mott, who was Opel’s group marketing manager for mini and small cars at its headquarters in Russelsheim until his appointment as founding chief of Opel Australia last year, said the applicants had included a “considerable amount” of Holden dealers, but that the criteria for selection was based simply on the proposal from each dealer.

“We were very open with all potential partners when we said what counts for us and what is really relevant is the strength of your proposal to us,” he said.

“(We told them) the brands that you currently represent are frankly secondary – we are going to measure each one on their own merit.

“I think it is a testament to the strength of the proposals we got that we have ended up with these 17 very, very strong dealers.”

Mr Mott said a key criterion was that each dealership provides a standalone showroom with “a unique door and a unique Opel experience, with no shared facilities with a separator down the middle of the showroom”.

Some dealers were building dealerships from the ground up, while others were overhauling existing facilities.

Although showrooms had to be uniquely Opel, service and parts facilities could be shared.

Mr Mott said it was hard to say if the GM Premium Brands issue had affected the attitude of Holden dealers to applying for an Opel franchise.

“We certainly had interest from Holden dealers, but our objective was to choose the very best partner and that is what we have done,” he said.

Asked if customers would be wary of Opel after reports from Europe that it was financially unsound, Mr Mott said: “GM is absolutely committed to making Opel a profitable brand.

“Part of that is growing the brand’s footprint outside of Europe which is contracting very rapidly and where Opel has 99 per cent of its volume.

“Hence, Australia is an important part of that, and we are confident, as is Opel, that this will work.”

Mr Mott said Opel was “investigating every opportunity there is”, including China.

He said recent markets to receive Opel were Chile and Israel, with Australia next in September.

Mr Mott said his operation reported directly to Opel head office in Germany, not to Holden, but would share some Holden resources such as parts warehousing and vehicle logistics.

“We will be smart in the way we go about it so that everything is to the benefit of General Motors in Australia,” he said, adding that using services such as Holden’s existing vehicle import operation would give Opel massive economies of scale.

Opel’s dealer network:

Queensland
Opel Brisbane – Fortitude Valley
Motorline Opel – Daisy Hill
Gold Coast Opel – Ashmore

New South Wales
Sydney City Auto – Rockdale
Alto Opel – Artarmon
Tynan Opel – Kirrawee
Opel of Parramatta – Parramatta

ACT
Rolfe Opel – Phillip

Victoria
South Yarra Opel – Prahran
Rex Gorrell Opel – Geelong
Eastside Opel – Nunawading
Metro Opel – Moonee Ponds
Berwick Opel – Berwick

Western Australia
Burswood Opel – Burswood
Barbagallo Opel – Osborne Park

Tasmania
Performance Opel – Hobart

dutchy
26th June 2012, 11:05 PM
so nothing on the sunny coast area for a long time by the looks of it :mad5:

poita
26th June 2012, 11:09 PM
You have to remember that to a majority of people Opel is a 'new' brand.

No use opening 50 dealerships to cater for a small number of people.

gmonkey
26th June 2012, 11:11 PM
barbagello is an 'interesting' choice for WA... shame really cause their salesmen are rubbish! whole reason I didn't buy an Alfa or a Fiat....

-edit-

im sure they are great when your looking for a ferrari or lambo or aston... also i don't see how they have a seperate showroom just for opel :S

faneca
26th June 2012, 11:15 PM
No Opel dealership listed in Adelaide? Thought they were trying to go for a dealership in every capital?

kts350
26th June 2012, 11:20 PM
awesome i live in Parramatta not far for me to go...

adam_92
26th June 2012, 11:21 PM
so nothing on the sunny coast area for a long time by the looks of it :mad5:

Be grateful that there is at least one one in your STATE haha

gmonkey
26th June 2012, 11:22 PM
No Opel dealership listed in Adelaide? Thought they were trying to go for a dealership in every capital?
theres only 16 listed.. meant to be 17 ;)

faneca
26th June 2012, 11:28 PM
theres only 16 listed.. meant to be 17 ;)

Ah touché well hopefully they list it up soon! Where's Mel when you need her to confirm haha

Pete, now your putting her out of a job hahaha

adam_92
26th June 2012, 11:32 PM
I just hope its not metro Holden. They are the biggest bunch of smart arse, rip off, lying bastards... I know this because my brother worked there for 2 years.

poita
26th June 2012, 11:33 PM
I have more news, can't spoil you guys too much :p

gmonkey
26th June 2012, 11:36 PM
if its pricing tell us now!!!! or if its confirm of OPC

poita
26th June 2012, 11:39 PM
if its pricing tell us now!!!! or if its confirm of OPC

nah not that exciting

Jen
27th June 2012, 02:28 AM
Woo Berwick Opel! This must have been the reason why we moved here...

faneca
27th June 2012, 06:26 AM
I just hope its not metro Holden. They are the biggest bunch of smart arse, rip off, lying bastards... I know this because my brother worked there for 2 years.

Nah it won't be a Holden dealership, seems like they are trying to get away from the Holden connection

Melanie Kerin
27th June 2012, 07:29 AM
Morning... Happy for you to beat me poita when you are posting at midnight!

A couple of things to clarify as I've had a look through the comments... there is a dealership in Adelaide, the editorial team at Go Auto have missed it out by mistake - it will be Adelaide Opel, a member of the Adelaide Motors Group Company.

dutchy.... if you have a look in this week's edition of Go Auto we are advertising for phase two of our dealer network... and top of that list is the Sunshine Coast. Our dealer development manager is up there next week in fact having a look about.

Nurb608
27th June 2012, 07:33 AM
Come on Pete, Mel said you can spill, now spill :p

btm
27th June 2012, 09:33 AM
Oooooo, one 10km away and another about 20km away. WIN! :)

poita
27th June 2012, 09:34 AM
Morning... Happy for you to beat me poita when you are posting at midnight!

A couple of things to clarify as I've had a look through the comments... there is a dealership in Adelaide, the editorial team at Go Auto have missed it out by mistake - it will be Adelaide Opel, a member of the Adelaide Motors Group Company.

dutchy.... if you have a look in this week's edition of Go Auto we are advertising for phase two of our dealer network... and top of that list is the Sunshine Coast. Our dealer development manager is up there next week in fact having a look about.

The joy's of working night shift! It's when I'm most active.

Great news about the Sunny Coast too! :)

dieselhead
27th June 2012, 11:30 AM
Ffs no dealer in Adelaide... why are we left in the cold, is it because we are Holden's homeland?

hazrd
27th June 2012, 11:47 AM
Ffs no dealer in Adelaide... why are we left in the cold, is it because we are Holden's homeland?




A couple of things to clarify as I've had a look through the comments... there is a dealership in Adelaide, the editorial team at Go Auto have missed it out by mistake - it will be Adelaide Opel, a member of the Adelaide Motors Group Company....

adam_92
27th June 2012, 11:50 AM
Ffs no dealer in Adelaide... why are we left in the cold, is it because we are Holden's homeland?

Dan. Calm down haha. Read Mel's post ^^^ there was a typo and there will be an Adelaide dealership. It's going to be called Adelaide opel. I'm not sure exactly where it will be located though

Edit. Adam beat me to it.

dutchy
27th June 2012, 12:39 PM
dutchy.... if you have a look in this week's edition of Go Auto we are advertising for phase two of our dealer network... and top of that list is the Sunshine Coast. Our dealer development manager is up there next week in fact having a look about.

CHEERS Melanie, you have just made my day. Guess he'll be in Maroochydore / Noosa.......... and if that is the case, then I know where his appointments will be. :wink5:

kabel
27th June 2012, 12:41 PM
barbagello is an 'interesting' choice for WA... shame really cause their salesmen are rubbish! whole reason I didn't buy an Alfa or a Fiat....

-edit-

im sure they are great when your looking for a ferrari or lambo or aston... also i don't see how they have a seperate showroom just for opel :S
I thought the same thing.Was told that Henley`s were replacing the SAAB brand with Opel,obviously not !
Good location though,good exposure.

faneca
27th June 2012, 12:47 PM
Dan. Calm down haha. Read Mel's post ^^^ there was a typo and there will be an Adelaide dealership. It's going to be called Adelaide opel. I'm not sure exactly where it will be located though

Edit. Adam beat me to it.

It will be the Adelaide motor group, it's on Goodwood road, opposite the show grounds, it has Mitsubishi, Mazda and a couple other dealerships there ATM.

Melanie Kerin
27th June 2012, 12:52 PM
It will be the Adelaide motor group, it's on Goodwood road, opposite the show grounds, it has Mitsubishi, Mazda and a couple other dealerships there ATM.

Hey Faneca... we will be releasing addresses for the dealers this afternoon (5pm AEST) - stay tuned cause where you are staying is not correct we are more central than that. Thanks Mel

2002_XC
27th June 2012, 01:07 PM
Hey Faneca... we will be releasing addresses for the dealers this afternoon (5pm AEST) - stay tuned cause where you are staying is not correct we are more central than that. Thanks Mel

:lol: always so mysterious Mel :D

faneca
27th June 2012, 01:42 PM
Hey Faneca... we will be releasing addresses for the dealers this afternoon (5pm AEST) - stay tuned cause where you are staying is not correct we are more central than that. Thanks Mel

oh damn i thought i was on the money with that haha i look forward to hearing about it :)

maloo97
28th June 2012, 09:51 PM
Oooooo, one 10km away and another about 20km away. WIN! :)

Winning!!! :yesnod:

opelenthusiast
23rd July 2012, 04:10 PM
It will be the Adelaide motor group, it's on Goodwood road, opposite the show grounds, it has Mitsubishi, Mazda and a couple other dealerships there ATM.
The Adelaide Opel dealership will be on Hindley Street where Saab used to be

faneca
23rd July 2012, 05:07 PM
The Adelaide Opel dealership will be on Hindley Street where Saab used to be

Yeah I know that now :)
I can't wait!

chris_r
23rd July 2012, 06:44 PM
On one of my deliveries, I spoke to a former service manager for City Holden. When I mentioned that Opel were setting up shop in Adelaide, under the Adelaide Motors Group, he said he had a mate who worked there and said they were shifty as ****. Then again, he also said the same of Maughan Thiem Ford/Hyundai, of which I could certainly vouch for.

My hope is, the kind of experiences I've heard about don't transpire to potential new Opel owners. Then again, this list is only the beginning. I'm guessing as sales get going, there will be more dealerships popping up all over the place.

opelenthusiast
23rd July 2012, 07:48 PM
I know a few people from the Adelaide motors group and can confirm someone you met, whose friend knew someone there have no idea what they're talking about. From what i understand, Opel only plan of having 17 dealerships across Australia.

adam_92
23rd July 2012, 08:17 PM
I know a few people from the Adelaide motors group and can confirm someone you met, whose friend knew someone there have no idea what they're talking about. From what i understand, Opel only plan of having 17 dealerships across Australia.

I thought it was 17 to start then will expand depending on the amount of business that comes through the doors?

chris_r
23rd July 2012, 08:27 PM
I know a few people from the Adelaide motors group and can confirm someone you met, whose friend knew someone there have no idea what they're talking about. From what i understand, Opel only plan of having 17 dealerships across Australia.

We'll wait and see. Believe me, I know what it's like to be on the rough end of the things when it comes to dealers and there's nothing like spending 30+ large on a vehicle, only for it to break down and then the dealer doesn't want to cough up for the repairs and want to slug you in the five figure range, all because of some BS excuse. It ain't pleasant and it's nothing you'd want to wish on your worst enemy. I was only going on what I heard from one person there. I also happen to know various BMW owners (not including myself, as I work on my own cars), who refuse to go back to Adelaide Motors for various reasons. I guess that probably speaks more than what you hear from staff and/or former staff of businesses. Then again, my beef is more or less with service departments, rather than the salespeople.

Yes, Opel 'plan' to only have 17 dealerships in Australia, but that's not to say that later down the track things won't change. From someone who has been involved in the running of a business in the past, I know expansion/contraction of operations due to market demand is part and parcel, whether you plan it or not. If the demand can be met through expanding dealerships at little or no cost and means more registrations, then why wouldn't you do it? Exclusivity, in the automotive industry only works for the brands where if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it anyway.

opelenthusiast
23rd July 2012, 08:28 PM
from what i understand the dealerships are not like holden and will not pop up in random areas. they will be more exclusive such as bmw and audi. hence why only one dealership in a few states and a few in more densly populated ones. will be interesting to see what will happen if the product does take off though...

chris_r
23rd July 2012, 08:53 PM
from what i understand the dealerships are not like holden and will not pop up in random areas. they will be more exclusive such as bmw and audi. hence why only one dealership in a few states and a few in more densly populated ones. will be interesting to see what will happen if the product does take off though...

Actually, I thought Opel would (and does) compete globally more with VW models than it does BMW and Audi. And we certainly have more than one VW dealership in SA. Sure VW isn't your average Holden/Ford dealer either.

I believe it will take off eventually. The Astra name alone will get it out the door. The only reason Holden now sell more Cruzes than they did Astras are the fact some Cruzes are made here and as a result, they're eligible for a larger slice of the government fleet sales.

opelenthusiast
23rd July 2012, 08:57 PM
wait and see i guess

poita
23rd July 2012, 09:05 PM
And reliable sources or is this just all heresay?

Melanie Kerin
24th July 2012, 07:24 AM
A fair bit of hearsay I would say ;)

littlered
4th August 2012, 12:06 PM
I thought the same thing.Was told that Henley`s were replacing the SAAB brand with Opel,obviously not !
Good location though,good exposure.

Barbagello's have skoda in osborne park and from when I was last in the area, it didn't have it's own showroom. In fact it didn't even have it's own signage. I think the cars was on the Fiat block and the only way I knew they had skoda was because of a banner on the side of the building and a couple of skoda's parked out the front. So my question is.... where are they going to put it???

I question if this was a good choice. IMHO i think Henley's would have been better and I reckon if Brian Gardiner was still alive he would have got it after spending quite a bit of moeny for GM doing up his showroom for Hummer and SAAB (now both gone) and for Cadiliac (which fell over at the last moment)

ChrisMaz
4th August 2012, 09:44 PM
Barbagello's have skoda in osborne park and from when I was last in the area, it didn't have it's own showroom. In fact it didn't even have it's own signage. I think the cars was on the Fiat block and the only way I knew they had skoda was because of a banner on the side of the building and a couple of skoda's parked out the front. So my question is.... where are they going to put it???

I question if this was a good choice. IMHO i think Henley's would have been better and I reckon if Brian Gardiner was still alive he would have got it after spending quite a bit of moeny for GM doing up his showroom for Hummer and SAAB (now both gone) and for Cadiliac (which fell over at the last moment)

+1 Didn't even know Skoda's were sold at Barbagallo....

The burswood showroom should be a good one. Once its built.... Still just an office block at the moment.

kabel
5th August 2012, 08:57 AM
Barbagello's have skoda in osborne park and from when I was last in the area, it didn't have it's own showroom. In fact it didn't even have it's own signage. I think the cars was on the Fiat block and the only way I knew they had skoda was because of a banner on the side of the building and a couple of skoda's parked out the front. So my question is.... where are they going to put it???

I question if this was a good choice. IMHO i think Henley's would have been better and I reckon if Brian Gardiner was still alive he would have got it after spending quite a bit of moeny for GM doing up his showroom for Hummer and SAAB (now both gone) and for Cadiliac (which fell over at the last moment)

Barbagello`s are losing both the Fiat and Alfa brands which will now be sold by Chrysler Australia so Opel will be opposite the Jaguar showroom.