Opel is a German Automobile Manufacturing brand. They have been under several brands’ ownership until now. It was owned by General Motors from 1929 till 2017. From 2017 to 2021, French Automotive Group PSA Peugeot Citroen owned the brand. After Fiat Chrysler merged with PSA in July 2020 and formed Stellantis, it is now the subsidiary brand of the same. Some Opel cars like the Astra, Omega and Insignia have been rebadged and sold in the United States.
It didn’t achieve much popularity in India though. It was founded in 1996. The company tried to give the Indian buyers an example of affordable (?) German Cars. The company was later replaced by Chevrolet in 2006 for the Indian Market. It is a somewhat rare scene to spot one on the Indian roads nowadays. Let’s see the Opel models in India that are usually forgotten:-
1. Opel Astra
The First Model that Opel launched in India was the Astra in 1996. It was assembled for the local market in a joint venture with the Birla Companies. Its direct rivals were the Honda City and the Mitsubishi Lancer, which were stellar products. That’s why Astra couldn’t establish itself. It was later discontinued in 2002.
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2. Opel Corsa
General Motors tried to set themselves up in India with the Corsa. Different Opel cars having different body styles were sold under the Corsa Badge. The sedan model gets a 1398cc engine that produced 86.97 bhp and 110 Nm torque. It also gets a five-speed manual transmission with a 58 litre fuel capacity. Its top speed is 167 mph. It rivalled Maruti Esteem and Honda Accent.
3. Opel Corsa Swing
The Corsa lineup had a station wagon model named the Corsa Swing. GM didn’t understand that the Station Wagon trend was not that popular in India. This made the model a failure. Its specs were interesting though. It has a 1.6-litre petrol engine that generated 93.7 BHP and 203 Nm of torque. Its top speed was 170 kmph.
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4. Opel Corsa Sail
The last Corsa to be launched in India was a hatchback. It was also a five-seater version like the others. It had features like crash sensors which unlocked the doors after Crash, making it ahead of its time. The standard version gets a 1.4-litre engine that generates 86 bhp while the sport model gets a 1.6-litre engine, generating 103 bhp.
5. Opel Vectra
This was the final product in the Opel cars lineup before its discontinuation. This D-segment Sedan is considered a well-built, ahead of its time product. Its 2.2-litre engine offers 146 BHP. It was a feature-packed car with features like Automatic Climate Control and Front Power Windows in the year 2002. Its top speed is 208 kmph. There was also a facelift model offered by the company. But sadly, the model could only find less than 500 buyers.
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- 1. Opel Astra
- 2. Opel Corsa
- 3. Opel Corsa Swing
- 4. Opel Corsa Sail
- 5. Opel Vectra
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