8.1.2002
New Opel plant in Rüsselsheim starts production

In the first days of 2002, production at the new Opel plant in Rüsselsheim has started. The company has invested 750 million euros into the new automotive plant that is considered to be the world's most modern production facility.

In the first days of 2002, production at the new Opel plant in Rüsselsheim has started. The company has invested 750 million euros into the new automotive plant that is considered to be the world's most modern production facility.

The new facility in Rüsselsheim has a planned yearly capacity of 270 000 cars. The flexible production process allows for production of up to four different models running on one combined assembly line. The first car to be manufactured is the Vectra sedan, which will be followed by the sporty Vectra GTS in summer. The completely new vehicle concepts Vectra Signum and the Vectra station wagon will complete the model line-up in spring, and autumn 2003, respectively.

The new production facility will also build the successor model of the current Omega.

To assure high production standards right from the beginning, a staggered pre-production process was used. The pre-pilot phase started in summer 2001, followed by three pilot phases in autumn and a pre-production phase shortly before year-end. During pre-production, a rising number of Vectra vehicles were built applying a high quality production process.

Production preparation also included continuous, intensive employee training that was started in autumn 1999 and became the most extensive training program in the company's history.

Opel Chairman and Managing Director Carl-Peter Forster: "With the new plant, we created the best possible conditions in Rüsselsheim for assuming a leading international market position with the new Vectra. Furthermore, we have safeguarded about 6000 jobs in vehicle and component manufacturing at Opel's traditional production location".