Opel Astra GTC Production Launches in Poland

VIENNA – General Motors Poland launches production of the new Opel Astra GTC 3-door hatchback at its plant in Gliwice, Poland.

Adam Opel invested some €75.1 million ($103 million) to prepare the facility. Production was scheduled to begin in January, but customer interest prompted Opel to move it up by three months.

Opel Astra GTC 3-door hatchback.

“After eight days we will reach (production) of 17 cars an hour,” says Andrzej Korpak, managing director-GM Poland. Output can be increased to 19 an hour if needed.

Plans call for production of 17,000 GTCs this year, increasing to 60,000-70,000 units in 2012.

The GTC is the third body version of the fourth-generation Astra model range. While the 5-door hatchback is manufactured in Gliwice as well as in Russelsheim, Germany, and Ellesmere Port, U.K., the British plant is the sole source of the Sports Tourer wagon and the new GTC is made only in Poland.

The Gliwice facility will add production of the new Astra sedan, the fourth body version next August. Earlier plans cited April as the launch date of the new sedan’s Job One. It is mainly destined for markets in Eastern Europe, Turkey and Spain.

The Polish factory still manufactures the third-generation sedan, but it is unclear when production will be phased out. “We could simultaneously produce both sedan models, the old one and the new one, for a while,” Korpak told WardsAuto in an earlier interview.

Production of a convertible based on the Astra range’s architecture is to begin in 2013.

“The model will be a true cabriolet with a soft roof,” Korpak says.

GM Europe President Nick Reilly says rumors that the auto maker will build a coupe version in addition to the convertible are unfounded. But he told WardsAuto at the Paris auto show last month that if a coupe were to be built, it might make sense to produce it in Gliwice.

The Polish factory built 158,732 cars last year. Korpak expects this year’s total to reach 175,000.

Current production at Gliwice is 35 units an hour. “Theoretical capacity amounts to 42 cars an hour, which corresponds to approximately 207,000 units a year at normal working hours, five days a week and three shifts,“ Korpak says. “We could achieve 220,000 to 230,000 units by working additionally on Saturdays.“

The Polish facility is home plant for the Astra range. It validates production processes at all Astra factories and analyzes all quality problems, including those involving warranties.