Opel boss Florian Huettl: “Opel needs a certain volume from Germany too so that German production is economically viable in the long term.” Photo: Arne Dedert/dpa
Frankfurt. In order to utilize its factories to capacity, the car manufacturer Opel wants to expand its market share in Europe to four percent. “We want to achieve this in the next one or two years so that we can operate sustainably and be relevant on the markets,” Opel boss Florian Huettl told “Welt” and “Business Insider” according to the preliminary report on Wednesday. This is important in order to utilize the factories to capacity. “Opel also needs a certain volume from Germany so that German production is economically viable in the long term,” emphasized the manager.
Opel belongs to Stellantis. The group brings together numerous car brands on both sides of the Atlantic under its roof, such as Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Peugeot, Citroen, Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep.
After investing 130 million euros in the Eisenach plant, Opel now has to achieve the corresponding volumes for the Grandland model built there, emphasized Huettl. “Every plant in the group has to assert itself again and again. It has to find a balance between costs, quality and flexibility in order to secure its place,” said the manager. However, production in Germany remains important for many customers.
Huettl generally sees a positive development at Opel. “In the second half of the year, our sales are already above the previous year,” he said. Opel will have sold around 600,000 cars worldwide in 2025. In Europe, the market share rose to 3.4 percent in the second half of the year.