Opel Offers First Look at New-Generation Astra Sedan

VIENNA – General Motors’ Germany-based Adam Opel unit releases the first images of its new-generation Astra sedan.

After the 5-door hatchback, Sports Tourer wagon and 3-door GTC coupe, the 4-door model is Astra’s fourth body style.

The 15.3-ft. (466-cm) long sedan initially will be available with four gasoline engines ranging from 100-180 hp, three of which can be mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission, and three diesel engines with 95-130 hp.

Early next year, Opel will add to the lineup its new 1.6L SIDI Ecotec 4-cyl. gasoline engine with turbocharging and spark-ignition direct injection.

The Astra’s separate trunk offers 16 cu.-ft. (460 L) of volume, 3.2 cu.-ft. (90 L) more than the 5-door model. Folding the 60/40 split-rear bench flat can increase the volume to as much as 35.4 cu.-ft. (1,010 L).

“It is a stylish, more-affordable alternative to many 4-door sedans in the midsize segment. Therefore, we see significant conquest potential in Western Europe,” Opel CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke says in a statement.

“It will also play a leading role in substantially increasing our market share in key growth markets such as Russia and Turkey, where there is strong customer demand for compact cars with a separate luggage compartment.”

Russia accounts for more than 60% of all sedans sold in Europe. Last year in the compact segment, 51% of Russian customers opted for a sedan. Russia also is the Astra’s third-biggest market in Europe, and the auto maker will unveil the car at the Moscow auto show in late August.

The Astra sedan will be built at the General Motors Mfg. Poland plant in Gliwice, Poland. It is unclear when production of the current Astra sedan will be phased out.

“We could simultaneously produce both sedan models, the old one and the new one, for a while,” Andrzej Korpak, managing director of GM’s Polish plant, told WardsAuto last year.