Opel

Opel Automobile GmbH (German pronunciation: [ˈoːpl̩]), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Group, a predecessor of Stellantis, from 2017 until 2021. Opel vehicles are sold in Britain under the Vauxhall brand. Some Opel vehicles were badge-engineered in Australia under the Holden brand until 2020 and in North America and China under the Buick, Saturn, and Cadillac brands.

Opel traces its roots to a sewing machine manufacturer founded by Adam Opel in 1862 in Rüsselsheim am Main. The company began manufacturing bicycles in 1886 and produced its first automobile in 1899. With the Opel RAK program, the world's first rocket program, under the leadership of Fritz von Opel, the company played an important role in the history of aviation and spaceflight: Various land speed records were achieved, and the world's first rocket-powered flights were performed in 1928 and 1929. After listing on the stock market in 1929, General Motors took a majority stake in Opel and then full control in 1931, making the automaker a wholly owned subsidiary, establishing an American ownership of the German automaker for nearly 90 years.[1]

In March 2017, PSA agreed to acquire Opel, the English twin sister brand Vauxhall and the European auto lending business from General Motors for €2.2 billion, making the French automaker the second biggest in Europe, after Volkswagen.[8]

Opel is still headquartered in Rüsselsheim am Main. The company designs, engineers, manufactures and distributes Opel-branded passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles, and vehicle parts; together with its English sister marque Vauxhall, they are present in over 60 countries around the world.[9]

History

1862–1898

The company was founded in Rüsselsheim, Hesse, Germany, on 21 January 1862, by Adam Opel. In the beginning, Opel produced sewing machines. Opel[10] launched a new product in 1886: he began to sell high-wheel bicycles, also known as penny-farthings. Opel's two sons participated in high-wheel bicycle races, thus promoting this means of transportation. In 1888, production was relocated from a cowshed to a more spacious building in Rüsselsheim. The production of high-wheel bicycles soon exceeded the production of sewing machines.[11] At the time of Opel's death in 1895, he was the leader in both markets

In the early 1920s, Opel became the first German car manufacturer to incorporate a mass-production assembly line in the building of their automobiles. In 1924, they used their assembly line to produce a new open two-seater called the Laubfrosch (Tree frog). The Laubfrosch was finished exclusively in green lacquer. The car sold for an expensive 3,900 marks (expensive considering the less expensive manufacturing process), but by the 1930s, this type of vehicle would cost a mere 1,930 marks – due in part to the assembly line, but also due to the skyrocketing demand for cars. Adam Opel led the way for motorised transportation to become not just a means for the rich, but also a reliable way for people of all classes to travel.

Opel had a 37.5% market share in Germany and was also the country's largest automobile exporter in 1928. The "Regent" – Opel's first eight-cylinder car – was offered. The RAK 1 and RAK 2 rocket-propelled cars made sensational record-breaking runs.

Opel as a company and its co-owner Fritz von Opel, grand-son of Adam Opel, were instrumental in popularizing rockets as means of propulsion for vehicles and have an important place in the history of spaceflight and rocket technology. In the 1920s, Fritz von Opel initiated together with Max Valier, co-founder of the "Verein für Raumschiffahrt", the world's first rocket program, Opel-RAK, leading to speed records for automobiles, rail vehicles and the first manned rocket-powered flight in September of 1929.[17] Months earlier in 1928, one of his rocket-powered prototypes, the Opel RAK2, reached piloted by von Opel himself at the AVUS speedway in Berlin a record speed of 238 km/h, watched by 3000 spectators and world media, among them Fritz Lang, director of Metropolis and Woman in the Moon, world boxing champion Max Schmeling and many more sports and show business celebrities. A world record for rail vehicles was reached with RAK3 and a top speed of 256 km/h.[18] After these successes, von Opel piloted the world's first public rocket-powered flight using Opel RAK.1, a rocket plane designed by Julius Hatry.[19] World media reported on these efforts, including UNIVERSAL Newsreel of the US, causing as "Raketen-Rummel" or "Rocket Rumble" immense global public excitement, and in particular in Germany, where inter alia Wernher von Braun was highly influenced.[20]

Opel RAK became enthralled with liquid propulsion, building and testing them in the late 1920s in Rüsselsheim. According to Max Valier's account, Opel RAK rocket designer, Friedrich Wilhelm Sander launched two liquid-fuel rockets at Opel Rennbahn in Rüsselsheim on April 10 and April 12, 1929. These Opel RAK rockets have been the first European, and after Goddard the world's second, liquid-fuel rockets in history. In his book “Raketenfahrt” Valier describes the size of the rockets as of 21 cm in diameter and with a length of 74 cm, weighing 7 kg empty and 16 kg with fuel. The maximum thrust was 45 to 50 kp, with a total burning time of 132 seconds. These properties indicate a gas pressure pumping.

German auto industry recognition award for Gaston de Wolff[DE]

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Vauxhall and Opel ranges were rationalised into one consistent range across Europe.

By the 1970s, Opel had emerged as the stronger of GM's two European brands; Vauxhall was the third-best selling brand in Great Britain after the British Motor Corporation (later British Leyland) but made only a modest impact elsewhere. The two companies were direct competitors outside of each other's respective home markets, but mirroring US automaker Ford's decision to merge its British and German subsidiaries in the late 1960s, GM followed the same precedent. Opel and Vauxhall had loosely collaborated before, but serious efforts to merge the two companies' operations and product families into one did not start until the 1970s – which had Vauxhall's complete product line replaced by vehicles built on Opel-based platforms – the only exception to the rule being the Bedford CF panel van, the only solely Vauxhall design which was marketed as an Opel on the Continent. By the turn of the 1980s, the two brands were in effect, one and the same.

Opel Rekord E, mk.2 (1982–1986)

Opel's first turbocharged car was the Opel Rekord 2.3 TD, first shown at Geneva in March 1984.[27]

In the 1990s, Opel was considered to be GM's cash cow, with profit margins similar to that of Toyota. Opel's profit helped to offset GM's losses in North America and to fund GM's expansion into Asia.[28] 1999 was the last time when Opel was profitable for the full year for almost 20 years.[29]

Following the 2008 global financial crisis, on 10 September 2009, GM agreed to sell a 55% stake in Opel to the Magna group with the approval of the German government. The deal was later called off.[30]

With ongoing restructuring plans, Opel announced the closure of its Antwerp plant in Belgium by the end of 2010.[31]

In 2010, Opel announced that it would invest around €11 billion in the next five years.[32] €1 billion of that was designated solely for the development of innovative and fuel-saving engines and transmissions.[33]

On 29 February 2012, Opel announced the creation of a major alliance with PSA Peugeot Citroen resulting in GM taking a 7% share of PSA, becoming PSA's second-largest shareholder after the Peugeot family. The alliance was intended to enable $2 billion per year of cost savings through platform sharing, common purchasing, and other economies of scale.[34] In December 2013, GM sold its 7% interest in PSA for £250 million, after plans of cost savings were not as successful.[35] Opel was said to be among Europe's most aggressive discounters in mass-market.[36] GM reported a 2016 loss of US$257 million from its European operations.[35] It is reported that GM has lost about US$20 billion in Europe since 1999.[37]

Opel's plant in Bochum closed in December 2014, after 52 years of activity, due to overcapacity.[38]

Opel withdrew from China, where it had a network of 22 dealers, in early 2015[39] after General Motors decided to withdraw its Chevrolet brand from Europe starting in 2016.[40]

2017–present

In March 2017, the PSA Group agreed to buy Opel, its English twin sister brand Vauxhall and their European auto lending business from General Motors for US$2.2 billion.[41][42] In return, General Motors will pay PSA US$3.2 billion for future European pension obligations and keep managing US$9.8 billion worth of plans for existing retirees. Furthermore, GM is responsible for paying about US$400 million annually for 15 years to fund the existing Great Britain and Germany pension plans.[41]

In June 2017, Michael Lohscheller, Opel's chief financial officer replaced Karl-Thomas Neumann as CEO.[43] The acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall was completed in August 2017.[5]

In the 2018 financial year, Opel achieved an operating income of €859 million. It was the first positive income since 1999.[44][45]

On 16 January 2021, Opel joins Stellantis following the merger of its Peugeot parent company PSA Group with Italian-American group Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

In September 2021, Stellantis appoints Uwe Hochgeschurtz in Opel's management [46] to replace Michael Lohscheller who left to Vinfast.[47]