Most UK buyers of Vauxhall’s Agila are women and, with the redesigned model, which goes on sale in May, the marketing people think they have unearthed a new breed– “style conscious, confident women” who see their car as an “urban accomplice.”
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That’s according to Shelley Perkins, Vauxhall’s marketing manager for small cars. Leave aside the marketing-speak and Agila’s attractions for the fun and fashion conscious are fairly obvious.
It’s very colourful. As Belinda Mueller, assistant chief designer, colour and trim at GM Europe puts it, the Agila might be the smallest car in the portfolio, “but it gives us the greatest freedom as colour and trim designers; functionality doesn’t have to be dull and dark and it doesn’t have to be a compromise.”
One of the main interior differences between the Agila (sold in Europe as an Opel) and its sister car the Suzuki Splash is the instrument panel. “Ours is funkier,” said Mueller.
The Agila also has its unique exterior colour called Moroccan Blue. Inside, trim colours range from orange through green to charcoal.
The small monocab market is one of the fastest growing sectors across Europe, accounting for more than 1.1m sales in 2007.
In the UK, more than 94,200 small monocabs were sold in 2007.
Barry Scott, Vauxhall’s small car product manager, said that the Agila competes directly not only with the Fiat Panda, Renault Modus and Honda Jazz (Fit) but also three-door cars like the VW Fox and Renault Twingo.
Flexibility is the Agila’s competitive edge, he said. One in five cars that Vauxhall sells are monocabs, against the market trend where one-in-10 are monocabs.
“We’ve sold 35,000 Agilas in the UK and 440,000 in Europe. We expect the new car to do even better as people downsize,” he said.
The new Agila is offered with three trim levels and three engine choices – 1.0 and 1.2 litre petrol and 1.3 diesel – plus optional automatic transmission on the 1.2.
Prices range from GBP7,595 to GBP11,195.
