With GM building a Chevrolet version of the Zafira in Detroit from 2009, it is possible that the model could be exported to Europe.
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The Chevrolet compact minivan will go into production in the second quarter of 2009, and will differ from the Opel Zafira only marginally. “Exports to Europe of this model have not been ruled out,” Opel works council head Klaus Franz told Automobilwoche. A Saturn version of the Zafira is also being planned.
The continued low value of the dollar makes production of the Zafira in the US attractive. “At the moment this is an unlikely scenario,” said Franz, “but its puts pressure on the European plants.”
The Zafira is produced in Bochum, Germany and Gliwice, Poland. A Saturn version of the Astra is produced in Europe and exported to the US.
In addition to the unfavourable exchange rate, global warming concerns mean that GM is under pressure to offer a fuel efficient compact car in the US as soon as possible.
Good news for Germany as a production location is that Rüsselsheim is attracting ever more new models. A seventh model now being considered for the plant is a new Saab crossover from 2012, according to Automobilwoche.
Franz said that the six models already planned for the plant mean that the future of Rüsselsheim is secure. In addition to the three body styles of the next generation Opel Vectra, it will also produce the next generation Saab 9-3 and 9-5 and, from 2012, a new crossover positioned above the 9-4X compact SUV planned for 2009.
An added bonus for the new Saab model is that cockpit production will not be outsourced, Franz added.
The Opel works council is also campaigning for a future upper segment Opel model to be built in Rüsselsheim. It would be based on the Epsilon 2 platform. Franz said that as a minimum he would hope that the plant could produce cars from CKD kits for the domestic market, as this would be advantageous in marketing terms.
