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Insignia to Get Bigger Brother, Ampera Smaller Sister

The days when German auto maker Opel was happy with having a limited lineup of models on the market are over. Having seen the ax falling inches from its corporate neck, Opel is determined to make the business work, even if that means spending more in the early stages.

The car maker has already expressed its desire to become a global player, eying markets where it was traditionally kept out of by GM. However, this horizontal expansion will be accompanied by a vertical one, with more models to join the range in the near future.

Pleased with how the top of the range Insignia model performed, Opel is now considering making the model just one step towards an even more premium model, one that would come to the market as a crossover within four or five years.

According to the company's new CEO, Karl-Friedrich Stracke, the new flagship model would not be the only novelty coming to the range. The electric dream Opel has with the Ampera will be continued with the launch of a smaller version of the model, in the form of an electric-only version of the Allegra. The model is expected to be launched in 2013.

Both the expansion in the markets and the expansion of the lineup are meant to generate more volume for Opel, especially in the markets outside of Europe.

 "I believe that we can achieve a level of about 150,000 vehicles that we can sell annually outside Europe in three years' time," Stracke was quoted as saying by just-auto.com.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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