Opel to Expand Eisenach Plant for New Small Car

VIENNA – General Motors’ Adam Opel subsidiary plans to expand its Eisenach plant in Germany to accommodate a new small car, codenamed Junior, that will be positioned below the Corsa.

Plans call for about 100,000 units annually. Opel will invest some E190 million ($271 million) for construction, production equipment and tooling. The East German state of Thuringia, where the Eisenach facility is based, will support the project with E15.5 million ($22.1 million).

Eisenach plant to expand.

Serial production of the new model will be launched in January 2013, Eisenach’s new plant manager, Stefan Fesser, says during a meeting with Matthias Machnig, Thuringia’s minister of economy.

The new small Opel is aimed at buyers more interested in a vehicle with expressive styling, rather than size, General Motors Europe President Nick Reilly told Ward’s in an earlier interview.

People who are seeking “features like the latest infotainment (and) very good fuel economy, so they feel good about driving in the car and are willing to pay a bit more,” he said at the time.

“That’s (the segment) where we are adding a car.” The Eisenach facility, which has about 1,600 employees, currently builds the 3-door version of the Opel Corsa.

The plant manufactured 139,193 cars last year, up 4.6% from 2009. It has a capacity of 180,000 units annually.