AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)09/17 Report--

A spokesman for Opel, a German carmaker owned by Stellantis, confirmed that the company had suspended its expansion plans in the Chinese market, saying: "considering the amount needed to achieve practical results, Opel has shelved its plans to enter the Chinese market for the time being," the Interface News reported, citing the German newspaper Business Daily.

Opel said the decision was in line with Stellantis's "light asset" strategy in China. On July 18, Stellantis Group announced that due to the lack of progress in the previously announced plan for Stellantis Group to acquire a majority stake in Guangzhou Auto Fick, a joint venture with GAC GROUP, Stellantis Group will develop the Jeep brand in China on a light asset basis and negotiate with GAC GROUP to terminate the local joint venture. Since then, Stellantis Group will focus on the distribution of imported Jeep-branded cars in China. In addition, Stellantis Group will continue to strengthen the product supply of Jeep brand in China and strengthen the electrification lineup of imported cars.

In February this year, the media revealed that Opel is discussing a cooperation with Dongfeng Group and will return to the Chinese market as a domestic company in the future. Its models will be co-produced with DPCA and will be built on the same platform. This news was also defined as a signal that the Opel brand will return to the Chinese market after it was withdrawn in 2015. However, Stellantis Group and Dongfeng Group did not respond to the news. Earlier, in July 2021, at Stellantis Group's EV Day, the group's Opel brand released the official map of the new Manta-e concept car and proposed a plan to provide all-electric models in China. "We will return to China to bring 100 per cent Opel electric cars," said Michael Lohscheller, Opel's chief executive at the time.

According to Automotive Industry concern, Opel is the only German brand owned by the Stellantis Group (founded by PSA and FCA in early 2021). Production of cars did not begin until 1899, when Opel sold an 80% stake to GM in 1929 and became Germany's largest carmaker the following year.

In the domestic market, Opel officially entered the Chinese market in 1993 and successively launched a number of products, including Yingsuya, National Saifei, Merina and the new Aart GTC, etc., but the concentration of new products into China did not help Opel brand to increase its market share, coupled with product niche, low market ownership and other factors, Opel brand in China has not been smooth. In March 2014, officials said that due to GM's global strategic layout, it decided to stop the sales of the Opel brand in China, and then announced that the Opel brand would withdraw from the Chinese market in 2015.

After withdrawing from the Chinese market, Opel was sold to Peugeot Citroen in 2017 because of continued losses and led Opel to turn a profit in 2018. The following year, it was reported that Opel would be made in China, and the background of the news coincided with the "symbol of Citroen Group" and "Fiat Chrysler Group" seeking a merger. Dongfeng Group, as the third largest shareholder of PSA Group, will reduce its stake in PSA to help PSA and FCA merge smoothly. It is understood that Dongfeng Group holds 12.2% of PSA Group shares, worth about 2.2 billion euros. After the merger of FCA and PSA, Dongfeng Group will own 4.5% of the new company, making it the third largest shareholder. According to media reports at the time, Dongfeng Group had reached an agreement with PSA Group to extend the term of the joint venture DPCA, and planned to introduce Opel to the Chinese market. If agreed, DFG would have exclusive rights to the brand and benefit from the new technology and intellectual property rights of the combined new company.

Until the beginning of last year, PSA and Fiat Chrysler merged into Stellantis Group, and announced a new electrification strategy in the middle of the year. Stellantis Group will invest US $35.5 billion in electrification and software development over the next five years. In terms of product layout, Stellantis Group has released a new concept car map of Manta-e. As one of the classic models of the Opel brand, Manta will also fully start the electrification transformation of the Opel brand. Opel also makes plans for the future development of the enterprise. Opel said it would reshape the brand image and make it a younger, greener global brand. In addition, starting from 2024, all Opel brand models will be electrified. By 2028, Opel will be fully electrified in the European market. This year, Opel will be the first to launch nine models. At the same time, it also said: "We will return to China to bring 100% Opel pure electric vehicles."

In fact, the Opel brand plays an important role in the Stellantis Group's electric transformation planning, and it is not clear whether the Opel brand will have an impact on the Chinese market for the time being.

In addition to the Chinese market, foreign media reported not long ago that Opel plans to cut 1000 jobs in the German market. Stellantis's Opel brand plans to cut as many as 1000 jobs in Germany through partial retirement, early retirement or severance payments by the end of the year, the German business daily reported on Sept. 8. The newspaper quoted an Opel spokesman as saying that in the context of rapid industry transformation, the spread of the epidemic, geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions and sharp increases in raw material prices, the company wants to open voluntary exit plans to more than 1000 employees in Germany. According to reports, Opel has three factories in Germany, which are located in Ruesselsheim, Eisenach and Kaiserslautern. At the same time, Opel promised that after the layoffs, Opel will not carry out a new round of layoffs in Germany until mid-2027.

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