The small EV space has been heating up recently as more customers are willing to pick up one of these electric machines for their daily commute. Stellantis has been trying to cash in on this segment with the Peugeot E-308. Now Opel is bringing the popular Astra name into the EV space with the 2023 Opel Astra electric hatchback and estate.
Opel is slowly making a comeback in our market and if there is an Opel that most people know, it is the Opel Astra. The hatchback is a stylish alternative to the boring econobox sedans that it shares its rather steep price tag with. And now, a completely new 2022 Opel Astra arrives with underpinnings borrowed from its new family.
Opel, the German brand is not quite a big player in the Middle East. Yet, after the acquisition by PSA, they are in the process of aggressively updating their lineup, starting with the new Corsa and Mokka. Now, the Crossland is in for a minor update, at least in Europe.
Just a couple of days after teasing us with the resurrected GSi badge, Opel has released the first car that adorns the new performance moniker. The GSi badge makes a comeback on the new Insignia GSi, as a warm version of the standard 5-door Insignia Grand Sport. The new Insignia GSi will also spawn a couple of other cars namely, the 2018 Buick Regal GS and 2018 Holden Commodore VXR, which will cater for the American and Australian markets respectively.
After the acquisition by PSA, Opel released the all-new Crossland X a few months ago at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, although clearly it was in development long before the French takeover. The Crossland X is a small crossover based on the Peugeot 2008. Opel has now taken the Peugeot 3008 as a stencil to create a bigger version called the Grandland X.
Hot on the heels of Opel’s world premieres of its flagship models, the Insignia Grand Sport and the Insignia Sports Tourer at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, the carmaker has announced that there will be a third new variant called the Insignia Country Tourer.
Opel’s upcoming acquisition by the French company PSA (which owns Peugeot and Citroen) has given the ailing GM-owned German brand a new lease of life. However, Opel is already on a roll this year with new model releases, revealed a new addition to its lineup at the recent 2017 Geneva Motor Show. The Crossland X, as it’s called, will join the Mokka X in Opel’s crossover portfolio.
Opel’s mid-size sedan, the Insignia, has received a thorough revamp for 2017. The car, dubbed as the Insignia Grand Sport, will be sold as a Vauxhall in the UK and as a Holden in Australia. In the Middle East though, the Insignia is offered as an Opel.
Opel has a relatively non-existent rep in the GCC. Their cars have been available here on-and-off for decades now, but they had recently disappeared for a few years in between. Now that the brand is back, with no support from parent-company General Motors, they face an uphill battle to re-establish themselves in the fickle UAE car market. We’d say the best part of their re-emergence is that they brought over the entire OPC line of models, including this Insignia OPC sports sedan.
This dark-orange Opel Corsa OPC has been doing the rounds of local media since the beginning of this year. It is the Nurburgring edition, apparently making it very exclusive. And being a manual, it will be even more of a rare sight here.