• China premiere of Astra Notchback, Flextreme concept car at Beijing Motor Show
• Opel to expand dealerships to meet demand

Opel will present the Astra sedan for the first time in China at the Beijing Motor Show, adding to the palette of the five cars already on offer and promising to further increase the popularity of Opel cars in this high growth market. Also new for the Beijing show, which runs from April 20 – 28, is Opel’s concept car Flextreme that relies solely on an electric motor for propulsion. The motor of the Flextreme draws its power from an extremely high capacity lithium-ion battery.

The Astra notchback will help meet the strong demand for sedans in China, a market where 85 percent of all motorists already drive a four-door car with a conventional trunk.
Already the Astra five-door hatchback and GTC models have won over customers and become the brand’s best sellers in the country. Other European-made Opels available on the market range from the Astra TwinTop convertible to the Vectra and Zafira. The Astra GTC featuring the panorama windshield recently was named “Most Fashionable Vehicle” by China’s Trade Center for Automobile Imports and sina.com, the largest Chinese web portal.

Opel is positioned as a high-quality niche brand in a country where almost 8.5 million vehicles were sold in 2007 alone. Last year Opel sold more than 3,700 cars in China and the company predicts sales to expand as new models are introduced. The current network of 38 dealerships will be expanded to 45 by the end of this year.

“Opel is in the premium brand league in China. The combination of sporty designs, high-quality equipment, numerous safety components and superb value for money has earned our vehicles an excellent reputation among Chinese drivers,” says Carl-Peter Forster, President, GM Europe.

Four-door Astra notchback brings fresh momentum

Moreover, Forster believes Opel sales will get a fresh boost with the introduction of the notchback. “The four-door Astra, which was successfully launched in Europe in October 2007, will further consolidate our market position in China,” Forster predicts.

Thanks to a class-leading wheelbase of 2703 mm, the Astra notchback boasts a spacious interior. Passengers in the rear have plenty of space and the 490 liters of luggage volume can be expanded to 870 liters simply by folding down the asymmetrically-split rear seats. The notchback sedan is available with the state-of-the-art 103 kW/140 hp, 1.8-liter ECOTEC gasoline engine, combining economy and environmental compatibility with sporty performance.

German engineering enjoys excellent reputation in China

Highly regarded in China, German engineering is sure once again to impress the media and consumers with the Opel Flextreme. The concept car, which made its world premiere last year at the IAA in Frankfurt, also will be shown in Beijing. It relies solely on an electric motor for propulsion, with the motor drawing its power from an extremely high capacity lithium-ion battery. A 1.3 CDTI diesel engine powers an onboard electric generator for additional electricity. With this propulsion concept, the Flextreme emits less than 40 g/km CO2, giving it the potential to become an effective solution to increasing air pollution.

Forster is convinced that there is a bright future for the Flextreme concept in China. “The Flextreme is an important part of our strategy to reduce CO2 emissions and our dependence on fossil fuels. Solutions like this will reach production maturity in the near future, and they can make a substantial contribution to minimizing vehicle emissions, especially in rapidly expanding markets like China,” he adds.

Opel in China and beyond the borders of Europe

Opel began operations in 1996 in China and has established an excellent reputation there as a sporty, dynamic European import brand. Opel vehicles currently are sold in more than 20 countries outside of Europe. In 2007, these sales topped 66,000 units, a jump of almost seven percent from 62,500 in 2006. In addition, modified Opel models are sold in ten other countries under the Saturn (North America), Holden (Australia) and Chevrolet (Latin America) brands.

General Motors in China

The General Motors relationship with China dates back more than eight decades. GM has eight joint ventures and two wholly-owned foreign enterprises employing more than 20,000 people in China. GM, along with its joint ventures, offers the broadest lineup of vehicles and brands among automakers in China. Products are sold under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Opel, Saab and Wuling nameplates. In 2007, domestic sales of vehicles by GM and its joint ventures rose 18.5 percent on an annual basis to a record 1,031,974 units. GM ended 2007 with an estimated market share in China of 12.2 percent. It has been the sales leader among global automakers in China for three consecutive years.