Opel Cascada Leading Brand's Return To Australia

Cameron Aubernon
by Cameron Aubernon

Though the local auto industry in Australia is slowly drawing to a close, a few Opels will soon be found in Holden showrooms, beginning with the Cascada convertible.

Carsguide reports Holden dealers were told in a briefing to make room for the convertible on their sales floors, as well as to expect more Opels to arrive in the future. Though nothing more was said about which Opels were to follow, News Corp Australia believes the Astra could be the next in line, sold alongside the locally produced Cruze until the end of all local production in 2017.

The Cascada’s arrival to the Australian market comes after Opel as a brand left the continent in August 2013, where 20 dealerships were folded and 15 office staff based in Melbourne were dismissed due to poor sales; prior to the experiment, Opel sold their cars with Holden badges in the 1990s through the early 2000s.

Opel’s return is part of a strategy by General Motors president and New Zealand native Dan Ammann to reaffirm his employer’s commitment to the Australian market, and to Holden, as he told reporters at the 2014 Geneva Auto Show this week:

We’re going to make sure we bring the product portfolio to the market that the customers really want. The Australian market has evolved a lot… it’s going to come back to how do we best meet their needs.

The Cascada will be sold for $50,000 AUD by the end of 2014.

Cameron Aubernon
Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

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  • Richarbl Richarbl on Mar 06, 2014

    So against all sensible advice GM introduced Opel into Australia and then spent eleven months competing against their sister brand,Holden. Pulled the pin on Opel for twelve months and now GM has decided it would be a good idea to bring Opel back. WTF I am wondering what the next brave move from GM will be? Perhaps it will "Buick For a Week" or maybe "Its Cadillac Month at Your Holden Dealer "

    • RobertRyan RobertRyan on Mar 07, 2014

      @Richardbl, The Holden brand name is not going to die after 2017.So the same stupid decision is being made.

  • Kyree Kyree on Mar 06, 2014

    I don't think that Australia is the right market in which to introduce a semi-premium brand, but GM knows best.

  • Richard Richard on Mar 07, 2014

    Looking at the car itself, it´s a decent product and offers more features than a similarly sized Audi. The detail design of the interior door skins left something to be desired but at the price I wouldn´t complain. I can see why Opel want a wider audience for the car. But anavoidably this brings me to why they re-launching Opel after so recently abandoning the brand in that market. I had thought GM was past this kind of rather cretinous management. The problem with GM is not the engineering but the people in suits who seem to be tugging at the corporate controls like lunatics struggling for the control of an aeroplane. I also wanted to say that you can find an interesting discussion of the Cascada´s ancestor, the Opel Ascona at http://driventowrite.com/2014/02/27/the-long-shadows-of-the-past/. Comments are welcome, especially from anyone with an expertise in the J-platform with which it shared so much. I am deeply in awe of the brand/engineering knowledge of writers and contributors here so it would be nice to hear from you and further the discussion!

  • Mattsterzz Mattsterzz on Mar 08, 2014

    Its funny watching Americans comment on the Australian motor industry, if the Cascada sells in the same numbers as the old Astra Convertible, then it'll be sure to sell well. Holden has a brilliant line up in Australia, and the Cascada would only add to that. In concern to other Opel's, I could see a case for the Astra OPC to be imported as a hot hatch to compete with big seller Golf GTI, but I can't see a market for the other Astras, or Insignias or the Zafira. Adding to a previous Comment, If GM replaced Holden with Chevrolet, sales would dramatically plummet, look at the UK, people didnt want a Chevy, they wanted a Vauxhall.

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