GM’s Opel Enters Australian Market With Astra Models

Opel launches in Australia later this year with the newest Astra Hatch and Tourer models.

The European brand will compete in the light, small and medium segments which account for about 70% of Australian passenger-car sales.

“The timing for our local launch could not be more ideal, in allowing us the opportunity to bring the freshest Astra face to market from the outset,” Opel Australia Managing Director Bill Mott says in a statement.

“It’s a clear sign of the importance placed on both the Astra in our model lineup, and our local launch overall, that production for Australia has been expedited to allow us to launch the updated Astra at the same time as Germany.”

Opel Australia, owned by General Motors, will be a separate business entity located in GM Holden’s headquarters in Port Melbourne, Victoria.

Opel says full Australian lineup specifications and pricing, and details of a dealer network, will be announced closer to rollout in the second half of the year.

“We’re really excited about the range we’ll be launching in Australia,” Mott says. “Corsa, Astra and Insignia will compete with the best in the market.

“Launching a new brand in Australia is a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity to take a blank canvas and tell the Opel story. We might be a newcomer to Australia, but we have a 112-year history of innovation and automotive engineering in Germany.”