India Is Not Getting the Opel Insignia

With the European market at a stand-still and too many models already on the market, most large carmakers from the continent are expanding their lineup in emerging markets, like India, China and Brazil, in the hope that a premium segment will flourish there. However, General Motors has decided not to introduce the Insignia or the Opel brand in India.

According to IndianAutosBlog, the car has been spotted testing in Bangalore on a number of occasions, resulting in rumors and speculations relating to a possible launch onto the Asian market. Seeing as the Chevrolet Cruze has enjoyed a good measure of success on the market, the Insignia would have made sense initially. However, an import model might have carried with it a price tag that would have been too heavy for most customers in the country.

It has recently been revealed that the Insignia is hitting Indian roads as part of the testing cycle, in order to prove it can cope with such conditions. This is too bad, as the Insignia is probably the best looking Opel in some time. The mid-sized sedan offers a coupe-like sloping roofline that doesn’t make concessions in interior space.

Inside, the model offers three centimeters more leg room than the Vectra it replaces, while the exterior is virtually identical in length and wheelbase. When it was introduced in 2009 onto the European market, it arrived with an exceptionally broad range of seven engines that all meet Euro 5 emissions standards. The three diesel and four gasoline engines all come with a six-speed manual gearbox. The top diesel and gasoline units are also available with a six-speed automatic transmission.