The Economic Times (Frankfurt) - General Motors Co's European unit Opel is planning to introduce a premium model above its top-of-the-range Insignia as well as an electric car smaller than its Ampera, Opel's new head told a German paper.
"The Opel brand can't content itself with the Insignia." Karl-Friedrich Stracke, head of Opel since April, was quoted saying in an interview with Welt am Sonntag.
The model would come to market in four to five years in a new crossover segment not directly competing with models offered by BMW, Daimler or VW's Audi, Stracke added.
The company also wants to launch another electric car the size of the Corsa hatchback or the Agila subcompact in addition to its Ampera, a version of the Chevrolet Volt, the head of Opel was quoted as saying.
Stracke also wants to push Opel's expansion outside its European domestic market, he said. "I believe that we can achieve a level of about 150,000 vehicles that we can sell annually outside Europe in three years' time."
His predecessor Nick Reilly, now chairman of Opel's supervisory board, had previously targeted a figure of around 100,000 units.
Stracke said Opel has the green light from parent GM to expand outside Europe as long as it is profitable and complements GM's other brands.
