General Motors’ European unit has confirmed media reports earlier this week that Opel/Vauxhall plans extra shifts at its Ellesmere Port (England) and Gliwice (Poland) plants to meet high demand for the five-door Astra Sports Tourer wagon and five-door hatchback. Eight additional shifts are planned per plant for the months May, June and July.
Opel/Vauxhall will also start manufacturing the Astra in Rüsselsheim which, until recently, built the Buick Regal for North America. Production of that Opel Insignia-based model has now shifted to Oshawa in Canada. Full Insignia production continues at Rüsselsheim while the plant is readied to build more five-door Astras from the end of August on the same line.
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Opel/Vauxhall said it had made market share gains throughout Europe this year. European market share rose from 5.8% in April 2010 to around 6% in April 2011. In the first four months, sales rose 32,000 vehicles or 8.2%. Opel/Vauxhall sold around 420,000 vehicles in this period.
The Astra Sports Tourer, exclusively built in Ellesmere Port accounted for 46,247 units at Ellesmere Port in the first four months of the year and is currently top seller in its segment in Europe and here in the UK.
From this month, though, it faces stiff competition from the new Focus wagon which will eventually be sold worldwide.
Opel/Vauxhall will start taking orders for the redesigned Astra three-door hatchback (Ford has dropped this variant from its rival Focus line) on June ahead of its public unveiling at the Frankfurt show in September and sales starting later in autumn.
Karl-Friedrich Stracke, Opel/Vauxhall CEO, said: “Thanks to our updated model portfolio, Opel/Vauxhall is enjoying continued success. The Astra’s popularity just keeps growing, and with the new extra shifts we will be able to meet customer demand even better. With the introduction of the Astra GTC we will add an especially sporty chapter to the success story of this model series.”
Opel/Vauxhall has not yet said officially where the three-door will be built but, of the now three European sources, newly retooled Rüsselsheim is most likely, especially given the August start of production.
