Opel Believes Adam Can Be Profitable Despite Being Built in Germany

OpelOpelGermany, 1863 > present85 models
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is hoping to buck the trend of car production in Europe and produce the new AdamOpel ADAM Gen.1Germany, 2012 > present25 versions
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compact in Germany and be profitable. The recent trend is to move compact car production out of Western Europe to take advantage of lower wages and therefore higher profit margins. Sales will begin in January, and Opel hopes to sell around 50,000 cars a year

"The way the car has been constructed gives us the possibility to build in Germany and still be profitable," said Alfred Rieck, head of Opel sales and marketing. 

The Adam is built on a modified version of the CorsaOpel Corsa Gen.4 [D]Germany, 2006 > present222 versions
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platform and will share the Corsa's engines, assembly line, body shop and paint shop. Sharing parts allows Opel to build the Adam and Corsa simultaneously and make the car profitable. 

When sales begin, the Adam will start at €11,500 and compete against the Fiat 500 and Mini. Like those cars, Opel has prepared a wide variety of accessories to allow buyers to personalize their cars. These options include 12 body colors and three roof colors. Inside, buyers can specify the colors for the dashboard, steering wheel, door inserts, key fob and rearview mirror. There is also an optional headliner embedded with LED lights.  

To build the Adam, Opel updated the Corsa assembly line to allow for the many personalization options. 

Source: Automotive News Europe