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Opel Grandland X Switching Production to Germany in 2019, PHEV Coming in 2020

Here’s something that few people in the industry were expecting to come true. Groupe PSA, the company that controls Opel, agreed with the IG Metall/Works Council to switch Grandland X production to Germany. The largest crossover in the German automaker’s range is currently produced in France at the Sochaux plant.
Opel Grandland X 10 photos
Photo: Opel
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From the second quarter of 2018, Walvis Bay in Namibia of all places will also welcome the Grandland X. Securing Opel’s future in Germany, the model will roll off the assembly line in Eisenach from mid-2019 in two shifts. A “hybrid version,” which actually uses a plug-in hybrid powertrain shared with the Citroen C5 Aircross, “will follow in 2020.” Still, what does this mean for both of the parties?

On the one hand, French unions are angered by Groupe PSA’s decision. But on the other hand, ending assembly in Sochaux frees up space for other vehicles riding on the EMP2 platform. The French automaker assured that overflow production of the Peugeot 5008 would make up for some of the lost volume, and that’s just the start.

As for Opel, the automaker and Germany’s IG Metall union have been in a standoff with Groupe PSA for quite some time now. Securing jobs in Germany and keeping Opel as German as possible is what has been achieved from this point of view. The agreement also includes the framework for job guarantees until 2023, as well as “significant investments” at the sites in Eisenach, Russelsheim, and Kaiserslautern.

“We will ensure long-term utilization of our German sites and thus protect employment – and this well into the next decade – with attractive models and high-quality components,” declared Michael Lohscheller, CEO of Opel. “We are deeply rooted in Germany and our German plants are and will remain our backbone.”

Marketed under the Vauxhall brand in the United Kingdom, the Grandland X starts at 24,000 euros in Opel’s home market. In the Albion, the Vauxhall-badged crossover is priced from 22,755 pounds sterling.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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