Opel Makes 3

General Motors Corp.'s Opel/Vauxhall brands by 2007 will import into Europe a version of the Saturn Sky roadster from the Wilmington, DE, assembly plant.

In addition, GM Europe President Carl Peter Forster tells Ward's Adam Opel AG will look at various opportunities within GM's North American manufacturing base for product sourcing in the future. He says the Sky-based vehicle will be the test case for using North American production sites for Opel products.

The Saturn Sky “most probably will be re-exported to Europe as an Opel/Vauxhall within the next two years,” he says in an interview.

GM showed the Vauxhall Lightning concept roadster with other Kappa-platform cars (including a different Saturn concept called the Curve and the upcoming '06 Pontiac Solstice) at last year's Detroit auto show. But the auto maker later said it would not be able to sell the car in Europe because it would not meet 2005 pedestrian-impact requirements there.

Saturn subsequently co-opted the Lightning styling for the Sky, and GM insiders now say the auto maker is looking for ways to satisfy regional safety standards in order to sell the car through its European brands.

Asked if Opel would source vehicles from other North American plants, Forster says, “Absolutely. We are really working hard to leverage General Motors much better than in the past.”

He says that as Opel and Saturn become more closely aligned in terms of product development and design, it makes sense for Opel to look outside its European borders for production sourcing.

GM is pursuing a similar tactic with its Holden Ltd. subsidiary as well. GM is considering building the next-generation Holden Ute and other iconic Australian cars, such as the Monaro and Statesman, in the U.S. and shipping them to Australia — to the consternation of nationalistic Australians.

GM reportedly will use the new free-trade agreement between Australia and the U.S. to shuffle its production bases as early as 2007.