Opel - automotive industry company news 
CHINA: General Motors January sales off 8% year on year
7 February 2012
General Motors sales in China last month were up 25.3% over December 2011, the automaker's second-best January ever there but the 246,654-vehicle tally, including joint ventures, was down 8% year on year. There were three fewer shopping days as a result of the Lunar New Year holiday.
GERMANY: UAW man on Opel board
7 February 2012
General Motors continues to tighten its grip on its German subsidiary Opel with the expected appointment of United Auto Workers (UAW) president Bob King to the supervisory board next month, according to Handelsblatt.
GENEVA PREVIEW: Updated global debuts list [Honda CR-V diesel & Morgan Aero Coupe added]
7 February 2012
An updated version of just-auto's list of world premiere concepts and production models due to take a bow at the Geneva motor show's 6 March press day.
BRAZIL: Lifan in investment mood, Renault mulls Lodgy
30 January 2012
Lifan has decided to deepen its partnership with Brazilian group Effa which already distributes the Chinese automaker's 320 (which looks something like BMW's Mini) and 620 sedan models here.
GENEVA PREVIEW: Updated global debuts list
30 January 2012
An updated version of just-auto's list of world premiere concepts and production models due to take their bows at the Geneva motor show's 6 March press day.
January 2012 management briefing: world markets – Europe
27 January 2012
It is probably fair to say that the analysts and pundits are – in early 2012 - less certain about prospects for the year ahead than they were a year ago.
GERMANY: Opel appoints new communications director
26 January 2012
Johan Willems joins the Opel management board next week as head of communications for Opel/Vauxhall, taking over from Susanne Wegerhoff who has decided to leave the company, Opel said in statement.
GERMANY: Opel discussing sales cooperation with SAIC - report
24 January 2012
General Motors' European unit Opel is talking with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), one of its parent company's joint venture partners in China, about sales cooperation.
ANALYSIS: European sales down, VW remains top brand
20 January 2012
The Volkswagen Golf remained Europe’s best-selling car in 2011, despite a drop in sales of 1.6% in 2011 compared to 2010, analysts JATO Dynamics said. The VW Polo retained second place for December and for the year, with sales up 2.9% and 0.5% respectively, while Ford’s Fiesta held third place both in December and for the year.
SOUTH KOREA: GM to meet unions over production shift rumours
19 January 2012
John Buttermore, the interim chief executive of General Motors’ South Korean operations, plans to meet union leaders on Friday (20 January) to discuss reports that some production may be shifted to Europe.
UK: Vauxhall accounts for 60% of LCV production
19 January 2012
General Motor's two English assembly plants accounted for 60% of the country's total light commercial vehicle production, the automaker said.
UK: Popular Astra wagon hikes plant line rate
19 January 2012
High demand for the Opel/Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer [wagon] helped General Motors' Ellesmere Port plant to record line rates of 47 units per hour from July 2011, the automaker said.
PRODUCT EYE: Kia Optima 1.7
18 January 2012
How's this for a summary of the old-shape Optima: "the last time Kia had a vehicle in the D segment it was one that, pragmatically, had no credibility whatsoever". So says the company's head of UK media relations.
RUSSIA: GM plans to boost production
18 January 2012
General Motors is to spend US$1bn in Russia over five years to more than double production by 2015.
GERMANY: New Works Council chairman Schäfer-Klug quiet on Opel wage speculation
17 January 2012
Newly-elected Opel Works Council chairman Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug is remaining tight-lipped on any suggestions of a worker pay cut as the manufacturer enters a critical year.
GENEVA PREVIEW: Updated global debuts list [triple-turbo BMW added]
16 January 2012
An updated version of just-auto's list of world premiere concepts and production models due to take their bows at the Geneva motor show's 6 March press day.
THE WEEK THAT WAS: Detroit, sunny Detroit
13 January 2012
Triple-D week for me, this, first time in Detroit, first time at the Detroit show, first time on Delta. Despite the dire predictions of certain sages I know, it was all good.
GENEVA PREVIEW: Updated global debuts list [Peugeot 208 added]
11 January 2012
Some additions to just-auto's list of world premiere concepts and production models due to take their bows at the Geneva motor show in March.
DETROIT SHOW: Buick Encore previews Opel Mokka
11 January 2012
General Motors' Buick division has revealed the Encore SUV at the Detroit auto show. The little SUV is not only an additional model but previews a Chevrolet to come, as well as the new Opel and Vauxhall Mokka.
GENEVA PREVIEW: Opel Mokka world premiere
11 January 2012
Opel has released the first images and details of the Opel Mokka. The new vehicle, which will also be sold in the UK with Vauxhall badges, is a, small, five-seat SUV. There will be a version to come for Chevrolet Europe, while the new Buick Encore is another close relative.
DETROIT SHOW: Chevrolet paints target around millennials
10 January 2012
General Motors' Chevrolet division is taking a completely new approach to marketing the brand to young buyers aged 18-30 – the 'millennials'. Two concept coupes unveiled here in Detroit are the first results of a new strategy in which youthful potential buyers are invited to be part of the design process and advertising is heavily skewed towards social media.
DETROIT SHOW: Global debuts list
10 January 2012
Our complete list of concept and production vehicle global premieres which were revealed at the North American International Auto Show.
GENEVA PREVIEW: First list of global debuts [12:30 GMT, Kia cee'd added]
10 January 2012
Manufacturers continue to reveal preliminary details of world premiere concepts and production models due to take their bows at the Geneva motor show in March. Time then for just-auto's first round-up.
CHINA: GM and Ford post sales gains
10 January 2012
GM and Ford have both posted large sales increases in China in 2011.
DETROIT INTERVIEW: General Motors determined to rescue Opel
9 January 2012
General Motors has no plans to give up on unprofitable Opel or axe the UK-only Vauxhall brand, international operations head Tim Lee said in a wide-ranging interview on the sidelines of the Detroit show on Monday.
DETROIT SHOW: Cadillac declares war on Germany
9 January 2012
A roster of top General Motors executives, including CEO Dan Akerson, North America head Mark Reuss, global design chief Ed Welburn and Cadillac marketing VP Dan Butler last night (Sunday, 8 January) launched the Cadillac brand's most serious attempt yet to challenge the BMW 3-series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-class: the new-from-the-ground-up ATS sedan/saloon.
December 2011 management briefing: Review of 2011 (part 2)
23 December 2011
Like any year in the auto industry, 2011 saw its fair share of company ups and downs, industrial comings and goings, and a fair old sprinkling of corporate drama. Added to the mix this year were devastating natural disasters. We covered it all on just-auto. Editor Dave Leggett sifts through the lot and picks out a few highlights from the year just gone, month by month. Part two covers the second half of the year.
December 2011 management briefing: Review of 2011 (part 1)
20 December 2011
Like any year in the auto industry, 2011 saw its fair share of company ups and downs, industrial comings and goings, and a fair old sprinkling of corporate drama. Added to the mix this year were devastating natural disasters. We covered it all on just-auto. Editor Dave Leggett sifts through the lot and picks out a few highlights from the year just gone, month by month. Part one covers the first half of the year.
UK: European light vehicle output to fall 6.5% in 2012 – LMC
19 December 2011
Analysts at LMC Automotive have told just-auto that the European auto industry is heading for a sharp downturn in 2012 stemming from the region's ongoing economic crisis. However, they also say that the downturn will be much less severe than that of late 2008 and early 2009 because there is less of a surplus stock problem this time round.
PRODUCT EYE: Toyota manufacturing chief on updated Avensis
19 December 2011
So you're the world's most famously sensible car company. You've also had one hell of an annus horriblus, a year in fact that could have dealt a killer blow to car companies with a lesser cash pile than Toyota's. Your president has publicly shed tears over the deaths of people for whom a supposedly faulty throttle design was blamed. Now you just want 2011 to be over.
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