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View Full Version : Some more info about Opel leaving



poita
12th August 2013, 10:45 AM
http://www.caradvice.com.au/245654/opel-australia-closure-how-it-happened-and-where-to-from-here/


Opel Australia dealers walked into last Friday’s meeting in Melbourne expecting exciting news about new vehicles and fresh marketing direction.

“We all went there with a great air of anticipation,” one metropolitan Opel dealer principal, who asked to remain anonymous, told CarAdvice.

“We had believed that we were going to a meeting to outline new model plans, new marketing direction, new strategy, because certainly in the pipeline to launch was the new Zafira (pictured below) and the Mokka, and the invitations were issued on that basis, so we were all very excited at the meeting at the prospect.”

The reality could not have been more different.

“The meeting started at 1pm,” said the dealer. “It was scheduled to finish at 4pm. We were on the streets at 1:45pm.

“It was made very clear. [Opel Australia managing director] Bill Mott stood up there and immediately said the reason for the meeting is that we’re announcing that we’re closing down, which was a surprise to us all.

“Clearly dealers were losing money and it was a big financial strain for Opel, but to pull the pin after a year is very surprising. Normally you’d give it a couple of years.”

opel-zafira

The dealers weren’t the only ones surprised by the announcement. Opel Australia marketing and public relations boss Michelle Lang said she was made aware of the decision to close down the German company’s local operations last Tuesday night.

“I was working away on my presentation thinking we were talking about a Mokka launch,” Lang said.

“We had presentations prepared to that effect, that was the purpose of the meeting, but obviously that purpose was superseded by the more pressing message once it was made and communicated to us. [The dealers’] expectations were in line with a lot of our expectations.

“We could have either rung them before without any answers or worked our tails off and try to have answers for them on Friday, which is what we did.

“It’s unfortunate how quickly it all happened.”

opel-corsa-range

In an official statement on Friday, Opel said that in order to be competitive it would need to cut the price of its core models significantly, resulting in a business case that was not financially viable for either the company or its 20 Australian dealers.

One of those dealers told CarAdvice they believed the catalyst for the closure decision was Opel’s inability to get the pricing right for it’s core model, the Astra.

“When they set up here they assumed they would achieve a price premium,” the dealer said.

“If they’ve learnt anything in the year of trading – certainly on Astra – is that the price premium isn’t there. It’s a $19,990 market. If you can’t start at $19,990 you’re just not in the hunt, and the point was made that in all their analysis and planning they just could not get Astra to that price point, or if they could it just didn’t make economic sense, so the whole basis of the business wasn’t there.

“And that’s really the key: when they couldn’t get the core product to the right price point, the whole deck of cards fell down. It really was as simple as that.”

The dealer admitted Opel was “perhaps a little naïve” in its strategy heading into the Australian market.

“The target brand for them would have been Volkswagen, and Volkswagen achieve a little bit of a premium, but nothing too dramatic.

“I think they assumed they could achieve whatever premium Volkswagen was achieving but that was not the case.”

opel-astra-range

The Astra was priced from $23,990 before on-road costs, making it some $2500 more expensive than the entry-level Volkswagen Golf 90TSI. Opel sold 758 Astras between January and July, giving it a meagre 0.5 per cent share of the 145,858-unit sub-$40K small car segment.

One dealer told CarAdvice his and every other Opel dealership operated at a loss simply because they could not sell enough cars.

“When you take on a new franchise you do your sums based on a certain number of vehicles per month at a certain gross profit per vehicle, and the fundamental volumes were just never there from day one.”

Dealers have been informed they will be compensated for unsold and demonstrator vehicles, as well as parts, tools and signage, but remain in the dark about additional financial support beyond that.

“All of the dealers traded at a loss, so the question mark is whether there will be compensation for trading losses, and that’s what we don’t know,” one dealer said.

“We’ll be out of pocket. We haven’t had that discussion with them yet so we don’t really know how far that will go.”

One dealer said it would also pursue Opel for compensation for the cost of its soon-to-be-empty showroom.

“That will be a discussion point with Opel, yes.”

opel-insignia-range

Lang said details of compensation for dealers were still to be finalised and would be specific to each individual dealer.

“It’s a case-by-case scenario, so we can’t say unequivocally what we’ll do, and I can’t really confirm anything anyway because it’s commercially privileged information as far as what we agree to,” she said.

Lang said Opel’s current focus was to prioritise its customers and dealers to ensure that it met all of its obligations to them.

She said Opel was currently in discussion with sister company Holden’s dealer network about future vehicle servicing, and said while striking an agreement with Holden was “the most likely scenario” it had not been signed off at this stage.

One dealer told CarAdvice the majority of customers had been relatively accepting of the situation.

“The customers that we’ve talked to have been understanding. They’re not feeling abandoned, it’s been quite good.

“It’s very good that you can reassure them that your ongoing parts and service requirements can be met.

“And in terms of resale value, I honestly think that a used Opel in a couple of years time will be good used-car property, because the car is a German-built and -engineered premium car – particularly the OPC models, which are outstanding cars, they’re going to become very good property, they’re going to be quiet well sought after.”

opel-opc-range

One dealer said it planned to continue selling its vehicles at least until the end of the month.

“[Opel has] given us some very attractive liquidation pricing and we’ve had very good reaction from customers on that, and we’re selling cars.

“We sold two cars yesterday and we’ve got a lot of prospects today, so we’re quite confident of being able to [sell] quite a bit of our stock.”

Lang said it was unclear at this stage how long it would take to completely wrap up the local operations.

“It will vary from dealer to dealer and there’s various legal constraints and boundaries that will have an impact on, that so I can’t really comment much further.

“All the Opel dealers are still operational as it stands right now. We need to come up with an agreement to terminate our agreement with them to sell the cars, so until that’s actually happened – and it has been less than a week – the Opel dealers are still operational.”

dutchy
12th August 2013, 11:14 AM
Saw that story too. It's again confirming they have f$#ked over not only the customers but the dealers as well. Read another story too in a country, cant remember where though, they started to sell Opel badged cars in 2011 have have sofar sold 5000 units in total. I think it was in China. You would expect much more in a country of that size ! Shows they are only interested in numbers.

kabel
12th August 2013, 01:30 PM
They cannot have been that niave surely ? What a crock. They had years of gaining an undersanding of the Australian market via Holden let alone any data that is available to them via GM or national sales figures that are accessible for them to anylsis.
Reeks of stupidity or arrogance on the part of Opel Germany.

On that basis they were doomed to fail from the start.

Kind of glad I held off purchasing another OPC and bought something else instead.

I seriously doubt Holden will take up any of the existing range and re-badge them and I doubt HSV would go alone on any of the OPC range when they develop a raunchier version of the Cruze.
Either way the market is probably too small to bother.

"Auf Wiedersehen Pet"

hazrd
12th August 2013, 02:56 PM
“And in terms of resale value, I honestly think that a used Opel in a couple of years time will be good used-car property, because the car is a German-built and -engineered premium car – particularly the OPC models, which are outstanding cars, they’re going to become very good property, they’re going to be quiet well sought after.”

That comment seems a little bit contradictory dont we think? Considering the OPC Astra dropped $15k overnight, and the OPC Corsa by $10k, it doesnt seem to make much sense

dutchy
12th August 2013, 04:18 PM
That comment seems a little bit contradictory dont we think? Considering the OPC Astra dropped $15k overnight, and the OPC Corsa by $10k, it doesnt seem to make much sense

And that's exactly my point as well.

DRMAT
12th August 2013, 09:58 PM
Interesting that dealers are still selling them at pretty much normal brand new prices online though... advertising 'liquidation prices' but still at anything from $28990 drive away to $32k (Corsa OPC).

poita
12th August 2013, 10:36 PM
I doubt they care about carsales ads or the actual opel website.

They will just sell to people who walk in the door

Shaun
14th August 2013, 05:35 AM
Interesting that dealers are still selling them at pretty much normal brand new prices online though... advertising 'liquidation prices' but still at anything from $28990 drive away to $32k (Corsa OPC).

Couldn't Agree More. Dealers wont move much on pricing. They have been offered assistance from Opel from What one Article is saying . They wont loose out.

As for the Comment in the article retaining to to values holding up well i dont tend to believe this as once the brands gone and parts become harder to source in after 6-7 year mark i cant see them holding values from now on in. To obtain parts
you will have to either special order them through Holden dealerships or find them overseas in the later lifes of the car.

lonewolf1983
14th August 2013, 07:02 PM
yep 2nd hand parts market will be a bit iffy, insurance premiums will also be quite high due to lack of spares and local support

nigelh
14th August 2013, 09:55 PM
I will just do like I have always done just email Autovaux and a couple of days they will be here. Not looking forward to next years insurance premium tho

ScottSri
14th August 2013, 10:12 PM
Do you reckon the insurance premium will go up that much because insurance is the last thing I wanna spend extra money on :/

poita
14th August 2013, 10:17 PM
Do you reckon the insurance premium will go up that much because insurance is the last thing I wanna spend extra money on :/

It will drop as the market value will fall through the floor.

If you insure for an agreed value it will be a different story, only time will tell I guess.

JohnBu
14th August 2013, 11:03 PM
I wouldn't suspect premiums to increase by more than the average car due to Opel pulling out.

Parts will be available locally for at least 10 years.


Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk

caspers turbo
15th August 2013, 07:19 AM
It will drop as the market value will fall through the floor.

If you insure for an agreed value it will be a different story, only time will tell I guess.

anybody know what the deal with agreed value is?, im insuring mine for 45k agreed-but not sure if this rolls over each year or if the next year you have to go for market value-if anyone knows or works in insurance please respond

hazrd
15th August 2013, 07:27 AM
I dont work in insurance, but I can at least provide you with some experience I have had with this.

I insured my last car for $23k as agreed value when I purchased it. 2 years went by and I found that my policy kept going up. When I contacted them, they said that because my car was an "agreed" value, and was higher than what the car was actually worth in the market, my premium went up. Once I changed it to market value, my premium started to drop.

Bit of a cop out imo but one of those things where I just rolled with the punches

caspers turbo
15th August 2013, 07:45 AM
Thanks Hazrd, i'm not too concerened about the premium going up though-what does worry me is after a couple of years they say no more to an agreed value, or they screw you over if it's stolen or written off and re-neg on the agreed value

Now that the price has dropped somewhat and market Value is around 35k for an OPC (sourced from car sales) i'd hate to pay my 47.5k have it stolen and then receive 35k, i would be out 12.5k plus what i paid for the insurance, so all up over 13k loss

poita
15th August 2013, 09:01 AM
Agreed value is agreed value, it's legally binding and they can't go back on it.

That why generally you pay more for insurance if the car is in for agreed value not market value

dutchy
15th August 2013, 10:38 AM
what poita and hazrd said. Some insurance companies have new for old replacement in the first 2 years or so, then just drop it to market value. it'll lower your insuarnce premium significantly. Besides that, you wouldn't be able to but a new OPC anyways.

PreeCilla
15th August 2013, 09:27 PM
anybody know what the deal with agreed value is?, im insuring mine for 45k agreed-but not sure if this rolls over each year or if the next year you have to go for market value-if anyone knows or works in insurance please respond
I've been told that your agreed value can only be 'market value' +15% after the first year. Hence , purchase price insurance is the safety net.
Not 100% sure on this though..

caspers turbo
16th August 2013, 05:06 AM
Thanks for the advice, i guess the best bet is to talk to my insurance company for a definate answer

DRMAT
16th August 2013, 08:48 AM
I've been told that your agreed value can only be 'market value' +15% after the first year. Hence , purchase price insurance is the safety net.
Not 100% sure on this though..

It has to be reasonable yes, however sometimes they will insure for an agreed that is well above market if you have the car independently valued due to it being highly modified, collectable etc. For example i used to have a hotted up Gemini that was insured for $8k vs market value of $3-4k but only with an independent valuation and when that car was written off they paid up in full. You can't just say i want to insure my clapped out Datsun 120Y for $50k though and expect them to pay.

Shaun
25th August 2013, 02:57 PM
Has any more information come to hand regarding warranty and parts and service support ?

Shortstuff
25th August 2013, 05:20 PM
I just renewed the insurance on my car which is agreed value.

They sent me a renewal notice with a new agreed value which was $1000 less than last year, and a slightly lower premium. I just put the agreed value back up and my premium ended up being about $50 less than last year.

When I started my insurance they said if you want an agreed value, it has to be between $xxx and $xxx which I think would be pretty standard procedure.

imtfbundy
27th August 2013, 05:58 AM
I rang Opel last week, the person that answered did not seams to care. Opel are still in negotiations with Holden over servicing and warranty, I would have thought they would have sorted that about before they announced they were leaving the country :shrug:

Shaun
27th August 2013, 07:00 PM
I got the same answer yesterday and they offered to take my number and call me when they know more . I'm keen to buy an Insignia OPC but the lack of knowledge of the warranty parts and servicing aspect is bugging me about the idea . An OPC insignia would make a for a nice replacement for the HSV VXR . If anyone's interpreted in buying my vxr please feel free to contact me for more details .

kabel
28th August 2013, 09:14 AM
Seems to be a couple of bargains on the East Coast for those searching for an Opel, W.A Dealers seem to have applied a long distance tax !
Some more info here : http://www.carsales.com.au/news/2013/opel/hopes-fade-for-holden-to-sell-opels-38319

Blip
2nd September 2013, 02:32 PM
Had a talk to the Holden service guy that did my car about the Opel predicament and he assured me that Holden will be honoring all servicing and warranty issues with the sold Opels in the market (well at least in Vic anyways) - in his words "this is set in stone" - whatever that means.... another interesting little tidbit is that they are considering selling the Corsa - which I questioned whether it was a good move considering that the Barina would be direct competition with the Corsa. To which he agreed with me but the powers above think that it would attract a different segment of the small car market.

Shaun
2nd September 2013, 05:27 PM
Interesting . Wish they would come ourt with a statement soon !

poita
2nd September 2013, 06:29 PM
Will send a couple of emails and see what I can find out

poita
2nd September 2013, 07:39 PM
This is the reply I have received


The majority of Opel dealers are operational and able service cars until September 30. As soon as we can advise further we will, however all Opel owners can rest assured that Opel Australia will meet all servicing and warranty obligations. We will be in touch will all Opel customers as soon we can with regard to future servicing options.

Shaun
2nd September 2013, 08:39 PM
That sounds promising . From my understanding there is a fair amount of stock around in terms of stock in holding lots sites such as per car etc . I'll keep looking for a bargain thanks poita for the information . opel have been non comital since the closure .

PreeCilla
3rd September 2013, 06:50 AM
Don't think anyone needs a 15,000 warranty service anytime soon do they?

ScottSri
3rd September 2013, 06:52 AM
Don't think anyone needs a 15,000 warranty service anytime soon do they?

I'm sitting at 12,500km avg 550-600kms a week close enough haha

PreeCilla
3rd September 2013, 06:57 AM
I'm sitting at 12,500km avg 550-600kms a week close enough haha
Oh snap. Well Opel has 4-5 weeks to sort it out!
My poor old TS did 500km/wk but you beat that!

dutchy
10th September 2013, 09:46 AM
Got an email this morning. Would be nice if they kept us updated instead of leaving us hanging high and dry :mad5: Just wanted to have 5000k oil changes done and the next software update. So what if your car breaks down and/or you need (warranty) repairs or parts ?

Good morning Peter,
Unfortunately at this stage, I am still awaiting information from Opel as to who will be carrying out future warranty repairs, as they are no longer supplying us with parts and have had us send all parts back 2 weeks ago.
We are no longer the authorised Opel dealer and we are no longer able to carry out any further warranty repairs, software updates etc...
I will forward your concerns to Opel head office and an Opel representative will contact you.
My apologies for any inconvenience Peter but unfortunately Opel have discontinued any authorised work through our dealership.

Jen
10th September 2013, 10:28 AM
Isn't that illegal?

hazrd
10th September 2013, 11:14 AM
Seriously I'm getting more and more pissed off at this.....

Edit: and I didn't even buy one!!

Theo
10th September 2013, 11:44 AM
Got an email this morning. Would be nice if they kept us updated instead of leaving us hanging high and dry :mad5: Just wanted to have 5000k oil changes done and the next software update. So what if your car breaks down and/or you need (warranty) repairs or parts ?

Good morning Peter,
Unfortunately at this stage, I am still awaiting information from Opel as to who will be carrying out future warranty repairs, as they are no longer supplying us with parts and have had us send all parts back 2 weeks ago.
We are no longer the authorised Opel dealer and we are no longer able to carry out any further warranty repairs, software updates etc...
I will forward your concerns to Opel head office and an Opel representative will contact you.
My apologies for any inconvenience Peter but unfortunately Opel have discontinued any authorised work through our dealership.

I call bulls**t to their e-mail:-

http://www.opel-australia.com.au/experience/about-opel/opel-news/2013/September/ImportantAnnouncement.html

"The shutdown of the Opel Australia dealership network is progressing. For existing customers who wish to service their Opel vehicles, please note that the network is still in operation for vehicle servicing until 30th September 2013. There will be a phased shutdown of the service network thereafter, with alternative GM service locations to be advised.

If you have any further queries, please contact Opel Customer Assistance on 1800 993 677."

dutchy
10th September 2013, 12:54 PM
Yeah, all bull (again and as per usual). Walked into the local Holden dealer here and asked if they stock Opel parts. NOPE, the guy said, we don't. Am not sure if we will take any stock. Might have to order them if you need something so when you have an issue, see us in advance and we can order the parts. FARK, if I know exactly up front if, and when, something's breaking down, I would be a freakin millionaire !!!!!

rocky424
10th September 2013, 01:45 PM
Yeah, all bull (again and as per usual). Walked into the local Holden dealer here and asked if they stock Opel parts. NOPE, the guy said, we don't. Am not sure if we will take any stock. Might have to order them if you need something so when you have an issue, see us in advance and we can order the parts. FARK, if I know exactly up front if, and when, something's breaking down, I would be a freakin millionaire !!!!!

We owners are definitely not in the ideal place with all this uncertainty. I don't blame Holden dealers at the moment though as they probably have not been given the greenlight on officially servicing the opel cars. Opel has not likely reached an agreement... but have already started pulling out the parts from the dealers.

In the end, the customers are the losers. This is really bad for the brand... ALL GM Brands.

kabel
10th September 2013, 06:11 PM
I think I saw this at the movies.........................Mission Impossible III.
All Opel owners appear to have been disavowed !
Seriously feel for you guys.

chrissn89
10th September 2013, 06:58 PM
Dutchy, all Holden dealers will have the oil filter in stock as its shared with some other GM engines Holden use. Also with the 1.4tlr and 1.6ltr turbo in the cruze a few parts will be shared.

If Holden uses an Opel part they will be the same part number. If you ever want to know if a part number is available locally just shot me a text and I can look it up. I also have access to the Opel parts catalog.


Yeah, all bull (again and as per usual). Walked into the local Holden dealer here and asked if they stock Opel parts. NOPE, the guy said, we don't. Am not sure if we will take any stock. Might have to order them if you need something so when you have an issue, see us in advance and we can order the parts. FARK, if I know exactly up front if, and when, something's breaking down, I would be a freakin millionaire !!!!!

dutchy
10th September 2013, 07:57 PM
Dutchy, all Holden dealers will have the oil filter in stock as its shared with some other GM engines Holden use. Also with the 1.4tlr and 1.6ltr turbo in the cruze a few parts will be shared.

If Holden uses an Opel part they will be the same part number. If you ever want to know if a part number is available locally just shot me a text and I can look it up. I also have access to the Opel parts catalog.

Cheers Chris, will keep that in mind. Its not so much an oil filter or some of the same parts as used on the Cruze. It's the lack of Opel arranging things and informing owners. The lack of interest by the, only one, local Holden dealer (I am driving the only Opel in the area too). I know I can get most parts from overseas cheaper than I can get them here. As it stands now, I cannot even get my car serviced nor at an Opel dealer nor at the local Holden dealer. Opel specific parts are not available. There is yet another software update which I can't get. That just pisses me off. Not that I want anything in the car to break down but I'd been keen to see how my local Holden dealer will treat me if I put in a warranty claim. Now I had a problem with this Holden dealership several years ago when we went in to look at a Caprice. They told us that we might better look at a Commodore because a Caprice would be too expensive and probably out of our range. We then drove to another town and bought a Caprice there. Later followed by the sri-t,an astra g cd, an astra wagon, 2 captiva's and 2 more Caprices. The local dealer is are such ar - ses.

chrissn89
10th September 2013, 08:20 PM
I feel your pain, I have spoken with a few other Opel owners which have the same concerns and I am yet to get any answers from GMH and I work for them. I still can't believe how poor they have done all this it is very disappointing.

Theo
10th September 2013, 09:20 PM
Latest regarding leaving Australia... 10Sept2013

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/opel-boss-admits-australia-is-too-competitive-20130910-2ti4q.html

Opel management has confirmed its decision to leave the Australian market was taken because there seemed little prospect of the business becoming profitable.

Speaking at the Frankfurt Motor Show, board member for communications Johan Willems said a new management group, including new CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann reversed the previous team’s decision to expand into Australia as a way of saving money.

“With new management we were looking into every aspect of the business, and to be honest with Australia we couldn’t see anything positive coming out of it for a long, long time.,” he said.

“You can say when you go into a market you know it’s going to take time before you are profitable but this case was so upside down that it was better to make a break.”

At Frankfurt Mr Neumann announced Opel was planning to invest “billions: in new models and R&D including employing 350 new engineers. He also said by 2016 Opel will release 20 new models and no less than 30 new engines – none of which will be seen in Australia with Opel badges.

At the show, Opel also introduced a facelifted Insignia, a soft-roader version of the Insignia wagon called the Country Tourer, a high performance Insignia OPC, and the Monza concept design study.

Mr Willems said the decision to leave Australia was not taken lightly.

“We had a look at the business and if you want to turn things around you have to make unpopular decisions,” he said.

“I think at first nobody wanted to do this kind of thing but we couldn’t see any way it was going to work.”

Although he could not confirm or deny Holden was looking at selling niche Opel products such as OPC or Cascada convertible under its own brand, he was adamant that Holden was not instrumental in forcing Opel out of the Australian market.

“No, it was an Opel decision,” he said.

hazrd
11th September 2013, 10:35 AM
hah... unpopular decision?

Opel have destroyed any form of integrity they have ever had with Australia. If for some miraculous reason (and i put a hard emphasis on "miraculous") that they were to ever choose to try Australia again, I highly doubt they would be welcomed with open arms. I cant see them selling many Opel cars rebadged as Holdens here in the future. Once the word gets out that they are actually an Opel car originally, people who have been affected by this (or are annoyed at the whole saga) will more than likely fall back real quick.

poita
11th September 2013, 10:39 AM
Agree Adam, they burnt every bridge and then some with the exit from the country and complete lack of care for those who purchased a car.

I was 150% deadset on buying an Astra OPC, love the car to death. I still do, but the confidence in the brand is gone.

I will be jumping ship and getting rid of my Opel's soon and moving to a different brand.

It hurts but it's the hand that I have been forced to play

hazrd
11th September 2013, 11:37 AM
Yep totally agree about the OPC. Was 100% ready to buy one myself. After everything that has been happening, I was put off and ended up behind the wheel of a competitor car. Now that its getting worse, i'm more and more happy with the decision I made.

Wont stop me drooling over an OPC, but im at the age where I need to know im going to be looked after when I fork out $40+ grand of my hard earned for a new car!!

Theo
11th September 2013, 12:18 PM
I on the other hand only bought my Opel a few weeks ago knowing too well it was a risk. Maybe I was blind-slighted by getting a good deal compared the other vehicles I was looking at but I am confident all will be resolved.

Mind you it's not to say that deep down I am a little concern regarding the slowness in releasing information regrading warranty/service and spare parts.

Shaun
11th September 2013, 07:11 PM
I believe this would have to be the most poorly executed exit strategies I have seen ! Lack of support and information is disgraceful . I hope that there is some resolve soon . This way the consumers who have the product can move forward with the decision soon

Theo
12th September 2013, 12:26 PM
Just some more info:- 11Sept2013

http://www.carsales.com.au/news/2013/small-passenger/holden/holden-eyes-axed-opels-38784
"Negotiations continue for possible return of Astra and other models from German brand’s failed retail bid


Opel’s discontinued Astra and other German-sourced Opel models could live on in Holden showrooms Down Under.

Having pulled out of Australia after less than a year of retailing under its own name, Opel could yet sell selected models in Australia badged as Holdens.

Negotiations have been underway since the German General Motors division announced its shock withdrawal from Australia in August, just 11 months after launching in the local market with the Corsa, Astra and Insignia.

“We are talking with Holden -- we are seeing what we can do,” Vice-President Opel/Vauxhall Communications Johan Willems told motoring.com.au at the Frankfurt motor show.

“There is no decision. But I can’t tell you where it is at right now because I am not close to it. ”

Willems declined to name the models that could potentially be under consideration for Holden, but possibilities include the high-performance Astra OPC (Opel Performance Centre) and the latest generation Combo van.

Based on the Astra GTC Coupe, the Astra OPC was launched in Australia alongside the OPC-fettled Barina and Insignia in February, acting as flagships for the Opel brand in Australia and the individual model lines they topped.

The 206kW Astra OPC would make some sense for Australia because Holden does not have access to a high-performance version of its small car, the locally-built Cruze. The Astra badge also carries some resonance because it was previously sold by Holden.

Another outside shot might be the new Opel Cascada because Holden does not have a convertible in its line-up, while the Zafira – which was days away from being launched when the axe fell on Opel in Australia, could provide it with a large people-emover.

The Combo van was sold by Holden before Opel came to Australia and the introduction of the latest generation, which remains unavailable in Australia, would fill another niche.

Willems said Opel’s withdrawal from Australia was driven by the realisation that a return on investment in the highly competitive and mature market would take many years to achieve.

The decision to axe Australia was made by new Opel MD Karl Thomas Neumann, the financially struggling company’s third boss in four years. He leads a management team totally reconstructed in the last 15 months.

“It was a pure business decision,” Willems said. “We just looked at it, like the new management has been looking into a lot of other things, and we need to get our business back to profit by mid-decade … so we are really trying to look into every aspect of the business.

“To be honest, on the Australian investment we couldn’t see anything positive coming out of it for a long, long time.”

Famously, former Opel CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke told Australian journalists in 2011 he was targeting 15,000 sales for the brand in Australia in 2015. This year, to the end of August, it had sold 1215 cars.

“You can say ‘hey when you go into a market you know it’s going to take time to be profitable’ and we all understand that, but this case was so upside down we thought it better to make a short pain than struggling.”

Willems said he did not know how much money Opel stood to lose on its Australian venture, which included 15 head office staff and a 20 dealer network, but added “even if I knew I wouldn’t tell you”.

“Did we like the decision? No. But if you want to turn things around you need to make unpopular decisions and at first very averse. Nobody wants to do these sorts of things but we could not see how this could work.”

hazrd
12th September 2013, 02:47 PM
The media is really dragging this on through a rapid pile of shyte :deadhorse:

Theo
12th September 2013, 02:49 PM
slow news week....

rocky424
12th September 2013, 03:12 PM
The media is really dragging this on through a rapid pile of shyte :deadhorse:

Yeah, I am more interested on how they would takecare of their customers...

hazrd
12th September 2013, 03:40 PM
Yeah, I am more interested on how they would takecare of their customers...

Couldnt agree with you more there mate.

kabel
12th September 2013, 07:45 PM
Would be a better idea to talk about their existing customer base who have actually handed over money during the last 11 months rather than trying to talk up getting new customers in the distant future.

Strange way to run a business.

Amazes me all these big companies who keep having major yearly management reshuffles only to find nothing actually improves !

chris_r
14th September 2013, 04:12 PM
Yeah, I am more interested on how they would takecare of their customers...

I get the feeling this will be like how Hyundai Australia shaft their own customers in regards to warranty claims, only difference is Hyundai isn't playing pass the parcel and then just pissing off in a hurry.

SAMARAI
15th September 2013, 09:12 AM
The lack of support and knowledge/willingness to work on the OPC's reminds me so much of the support/reaction that I get from mechanics/dealerships about my calibra.

Very ironic.. Minimal amount of sales in the OPC and calibra and then almost total customer service afterwards. Gotta fend for yourself sadly.. Since the calibra being introduced in Australia.. People haven't been having a good experience with Opel here in Oz