12.4.2005
Strong first-quarter sales growth for Opel and Chevrolet in Portugal

GM Portugal achieved several sales records in the first quarter of 2005, both with Opel and Chevrolet.

March was so far the peak of the growth trend that Opel has been setting since the Astra was launched one year ago. Opel achieved the Number 1 position in the passenger-car market, ahead of Renault, Peugeot, Ford, Citroën and VW. Thanks to consolidated good performances of Corsa and Vectra, and especially to the success of the new Astra range, Opel achieved a share in the passenger-car market of 14.5%.

The Astra comes out as the best-selling model in Portugal since the beginning of the year, leading the compact segment ahead of the Renault Mégane. Compared with the first quarter of last year, Opel posted the highest market-share increase in the passenger-car market among all manufacturers in the first quarter of 2005, from 8.36% to 11.94%. Sales volume grew a sound 49.7% compared to the year-ago period, to a total of 6,266 units. The Portuguese passenger-car market was up just 4.8%.

Growth was also a key word for Chevrolet in the first quarter of this year. The new brand recorded a volume increase of over 220%, with an all-time-high market share of 0.95% (0.31% in Q1 2004).