Being CEO of Opel is a strange position within the Stellantis Group. The brand enjoys a privileged position on the German and British markets, where
accumulates quota of 6% and 7% respectivelybut it competes in the same segments as its consortium sisters, Peugeot and Citröen, which are stronger in the rest of the European countries.
“That’s our job as CEO of any brand: to find what makes us unique and set us apart from other brands,” he said.
Florian Huettli, the new CEO of Opel since June. For him, his challenge is twofold: because differentiation has to be made both inside and outside Stellantis.
An example of such an idea is the resurrection of the Manta sports car as a 100% electric car. This nods to the classic coupe from the 1970s, but has a modern design, similar to what Renault did with its R5.
Huettl replaces
Uwe Hochgeschurtzwho was at the helm of the manufacturer in the nine months before his arrival, from September 2021. However, there are no major differences with the management of its predecessor: «When you are in a group, your ability to act is limited and must be included in the Stellantis strategy».
However, Opel is in a sweet moment. After accumulating nearly two decades of losses, the PSA Group made one of the industry’s most impressive recoveries in 2017, bringing back positive results for the brand.
In Spain, they managed to take the top spot in sales with the Corsa, which has just turned 40 and is produced in Zaragoza, but Huettl plans to regain some of the share lost over the past five years. gone to win back. Opel currently has a market penetration of 3.7% within our borders, and although Huettl declined to commit to targets, it would clearly be a success for his management to approach the figures for Germany or the United Kingdom.
To do this, it met dealers at the Figueruelas factory, where one in four Corsa leaving its lines is electric. Distributors face a new online marketing model and brand goals to focus on the individual channel, through the new plan
Back to trust.
In particular, this means leaving behind the business model based on selling large fleets, especially to rental companies.
“I think the RAC is important for the automotive industry”said the manager, “but this should not translate into practices that harm brands.”
In addition, one of the objectives of the Spanish subsidiary is, in the words of its own director,
Peter Lazarinis to “control the residual value of large fleets through buyback programs”.
The main point of friction they can have with the dealer network is online sales. “Opel has been developing this system over the past four years and we have learned from our mistakes to get to the present,” said Huettl. According to the brand’s figures, 20% of registrations in the respective channel went through the new system.
This has a fixed price for each model, something that “doesn’t conflict for dealers, because they understood it was a trend and could miss the boat.” Opel is confident that this sales model will be replicated by the rest of the industry.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
