Opel quits the Australian market

[guy 27]

@guy 27 maybe the friends in brisbane want to part with some stuff. saw the flags still outside last week when i drove past. most of the cars are still there too but its not full of other cars as well. looks more like a used carlot at the moment.

Already asked and was told it's all going back overseas. Might see if I can work something out....

[dutchy]

Already asked and was told it's all going back overseas. Might see if I can work something out....

yes, tell Chris that I told you to tell him to give you a flag for which I will pay him a dollar.

[chris_r]

Have sent my email by good old fashion 60 cents mail, now he will get it.

Haha, I would've sent it Registered Mail with the return card. That way, you'd know they will get it. But, given they're supposed to be looking after their customers, they just seem to be screwing them over. My impression of this whole sham is, that they're trying to do as much damage to their own brand that they won't dare launch their product here again, well under the Opel name at least anyway.

But seriously, trying to get 15,000 sales with just 3 models? Who are they kidding? Sure, Astra was meant to be the big seller, but it wouldn't have ever come close to those figures without the extra models they so desperately needed. Had they had launched with maybe 5 models, they'd probably be looking closer to the 2-2,500 sales. Sure, it's not setting the world on fire, but it's a start. You can't tell me that Volkswagen would make 15,000 sales on 3 single passenger car models alone, not when the marketplace is now SUV mad. Mokka could've made a significant difference, but with Holden selling the same car as the Trax and the way Opel priced their vehicles, it would've had little impact. The Zafira on the other hand could've been a handy addition to an otherwise boring as bats**t MPV segment. But I think given the number of Astra convertibles I see driving around, Cascada would've been popular too. Opel, like VW could've also sold commercial vehicles (even if their Movano/Vivaro vans are designed/powered by Renault and built by Vauxhall) to boost sales.

All I see is market potential, so poorly executed and I've gotta wonder whether somebody at GM pulled this stunt deliberately for reasons unknown, because from a company as large as what GM is, I cannot see how they'd still have complete morons running everything after the GFC. You'd think they'd have pulled their heads in and thought properly about launching in Australia.

[dutchy]

they will open that letter Chris , not needed to send it by registered mail, hahaha.

Did you read this piece as well ?

http://www.themotorreport.com.au/570...tralian-market

[Shaun]

Did you keep a copy of the letter you sent Dutchy ?

[dutchy]

Did you keep a copy of the letter you sent Dutchy ?

Yes I did obviously but am not (yet) going to post it here.

[Mr & Mrs Vectra]

All of the other Euro dealerships seem to be doing fine. If it was so hard for them why aren't VW or MB closing sites down at the least?

It's a bullshit excuse for anyone to try and use. For Opel to dip their toes into a market for only 11 months and pull the pin shows a complete lack of research and commitment from head office.

If Opel was legitimately wanting to make an impact in the Australian market they would of launched with more than 3 models.

Why not bring out the Adam if they were so concerned about the small car market.

And waiting times were a shit load less than other brands, try and get a VW with a few options within 6 months. Or the massively overrated Toyota 86.

They would have advertised outside the major cities. I'm 400km from Brisbane and didn't see one commercial for them.

People travel far and wide to buy a car if they are genuinely excited about it or if the seller puts across a good front.

It was a totally half assed attempt all round imo, and from talking to many people about it they won't get very far if they come back again.

My 2c, take it or leave it.

Agreed, half-assed is an understatement. I'm 600km from a capital city. We have a VW dealer here. OA & the wider net were the only place I'd heard of Opel in the last year! I don't know what they lacked more, stamina or foresight.

[benzino]

In Albury, there's vw, Renault, audi, Citroën, alfa, chrysler, mb etc. And the only ad I ever saw was in a national publication (top gear mag) hahahaha. The only astra j I saw in the flesh in Albury was a boring 5 door silver model that I had to have a double take because I thought it was just another i30!

[dutchy]

taken from a news site;

PSA Peugeot Citroen, France’s largest carmaker is doing well in Australia where the company is launching six new vehicles between now and mid-2014. To support the new model rollout over the next 10 months, the French automaker plans to increase its dealer network from 38 now to 46 by mid-2014.
Considering the fact that Opel announced last week that it would exit Australia with immediate effect, after just twelve months in operation, Peugeot says is actively looking at adding several disenfranchised Opel dealers to its own growing network.
“I can tell you we’ll be targeting Opel dealers who will be looking for a new franchise in the next two weeks,” he said.
“There’s a couple in Brisbane that we’ve spoken to, had spoken to prior to the announcement – we had word that Opel was a little shaky – and then in Sydney there’s potential, we’ve already spoken to a few dealers in Sydney,” he said........

[hazrd]

That's interesting. Too bad pugs are ugly as sin