After poor sales in the third quarter, Opel will struggle to exceed last year’s sales level, according to marketing chief, Tomas Owsianski.
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“Sales are significantly below our expectations,” he told Autombilwoche.
To offset the slow down, Opel is offering so-called ‘driveaway’ prices. Customers can pay for half their car now, and the rest in 2010. “We want to pin down cash buyers and they could actually end up paying around 40% less as a result,” said Owsianski.
The marketing boss is pinning high hopes on the new Insignia, which goes on sale at the end of November. The company has already received around 1,000 orders. An estate (wagon) version launched in Paris today goes on sale at the end of March and this should push sales in the right direction, he added.
