poita
14th August 2012, 10:59 PM
Interesting......
http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/opels-mini-rival-on-the-cards-20120814-245gv.html
On the eve of the brand’s public launch in Australia, Opel has hinted it is looking in to bringing its funky Adam small car here.
The Adam, a fashion-focused three-door hatchback designed to rival cars such as Mini’s Cooper, Fiat’s 500 and Audi’s A1, is yet to go on sale in Europe yet, but the German car maker’s local arm has revealed exclusively to Drive that the car is under consideration for a local launch sometime in the future.
“It definitely has a chance of making it here,” says Mott. “The challenge we’ll have to weigh up with Adam is that it lives in its variability, and the opportunity to personalise it to the nth degree,” Mott explains. “You can do anything you want with that car: there’s hundreds of exterior and interior options.”
Having – as Opel puts it – “almost unlimited choices” means the cost of the car will probably be high in order to cover off the development of each individual styling element. The car maker would also have to “guess” what buyers will want, as ordering the wrong stock would be expensive, and as Mott says, the cars take “so long” to get here from Europe.
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Mott says that while Adam pricing is not even confirmed for Europe yet, it would have to be “accessible” for it to be considered for Australia.
“We’ve not announced prices in Europe for the Adam yet, so it’s a little bit early to talk about it. But I think that in general when we talk about how we want to position our brand, we’re about accessibility. And I think this kind of fashionable small car – making it accessible would again fit in to how we see ourselves and our brand.”
Mott says there are lessons that can be learned from Audi and Fiat’s experience with their stylish city cars in Australia. The A1 recently saw a significant price cut of about $6000 thanks to the introduction of a new variant, while the Fiat 500 runabout has long been criticised for being too expensive over its five-year stint in Australia.
“There are real pricing pressures in that segment,” he says. “Fiat came in here with the 500 with a seriously premium price for that vehicle – and we’ll see how that develops.”
Another trend in the “prestige small car” segment is to offer an ever-expanding model range. Fiat is expanding its 500 range to include a bigger five-door version, known as the 500L, and has also revealed a SUV spinoff known as the 500X. Mini led the way in multiplying its model mix from the one vehicle, after expanding the Cooper hatchback range to include a Cabriolet, Roadster, Coupe and Clubman variants, as well as the high-riding Countryman SUV range.
Opel’s executive director of international operations, Michael Klaus, says we’ll have to wait and see if the GM-owned brand will expand upon its Adam range.
“This is too early to talk about,” says Klaus. “We are very close to launching this one first, and we’re very happy with it.”
Opel says the car is all about being unique, and it features a techno-focused interior with a large touch-screen media unit that is designed for easy smartphone integration and internet functionality; while the hood-lining can be optioned to include a series of small LEDs, designed to look like the night sky.
The Adam will initially be offered with a range of petrol engines, including a 1.2-litre and two 1.4-litre powerplants. A turbocharged three-cylinder is also expected to be added at a later date.
http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/opels-mini-rival-on-the-cards-20120814-245gv.html
On the eve of the brand’s public launch in Australia, Opel has hinted it is looking in to bringing its funky Adam small car here.
The Adam, a fashion-focused three-door hatchback designed to rival cars such as Mini’s Cooper, Fiat’s 500 and Audi’s A1, is yet to go on sale in Europe yet, but the German car maker’s local arm has revealed exclusively to Drive that the car is under consideration for a local launch sometime in the future.
“It definitely has a chance of making it here,” says Mott. “The challenge we’ll have to weigh up with Adam is that it lives in its variability, and the opportunity to personalise it to the nth degree,” Mott explains. “You can do anything you want with that car: there’s hundreds of exterior and interior options.”
Having – as Opel puts it – “almost unlimited choices” means the cost of the car will probably be high in order to cover off the development of each individual styling element. The car maker would also have to “guess” what buyers will want, as ordering the wrong stock would be expensive, and as Mott says, the cars take “so long” to get here from Europe.
Advertisement
Mott says that while Adam pricing is not even confirmed for Europe yet, it would have to be “accessible” for it to be considered for Australia.
“We’ve not announced prices in Europe for the Adam yet, so it’s a little bit early to talk about it. But I think that in general when we talk about how we want to position our brand, we’re about accessibility. And I think this kind of fashionable small car – making it accessible would again fit in to how we see ourselves and our brand.”
Mott says there are lessons that can be learned from Audi and Fiat’s experience with their stylish city cars in Australia. The A1 recently saw a significant price cut of about $6000 thanks to the introduction of a new variant, while the Fiat 500 runabout has long been criticised for being too expensive over its five-year stint in Australia.
“There are real pricing pressures in that segment,” he says. “Fiat came in here with the 500 with a seriously premium price for that vehicle – and we’ll see how that develops.”
Another trend in the “prestige small car” segment is to offer an ever-expanding model range. Fiat is expanding its 500 range to include a bigger five-door version, known as the 500L, and has also revealed a SUV spinoff known as the 500X. Mini led the way in multiplying its model mix from the one vehicle, after expanding the Cooper hatchback range to include a Cabriolet, Roadster, Coupe and Clubman variants, as well as the high-riding Countryman SUV range.
Opel’s executive director of international operations, Michael Klaus, says we’ll have to wait and see if the GM-owned brand will expand upon its Adam range.
“This is too early to talk about,” says Klaus. “We are very close to launching this one first, and we’re very happy with it.”
Opel says the car is all about being unique, and it features a techno-focused interior with a large touch-screen media unit that is designed for easy smartphone integration and internet functionality; while the hood-lining can be optioned to include a series of small LEDs, designed to look like the night sky.
The Adam will initially be offered with a range of petrol engines, including a 1.2-litre and two 1.4-litre powerplants. A turbocharged three-cylinder is also expected to be added at a later date.