Opel-Vauxhall confirms: Electric cars only from 2025

This is said by the company's number one, who therefore does not fear the current slowdown in electric car sales

By: Massimo Grassi

May 16, 2024 at 3:04am ET

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Electric car sales in Europe and beyond are not taking off as hoped and many manufacturers are revising their plans, extending the life of models and combustion engines in anticipation of better times. This does not include Opel-Vauxhall, which indeed confirms its original plans to sell only electric cars on the Old Continent from 2025.

This was confirmed directly by Opel's chief executive Florian Huettl in an interview with Automotive News, in which he stated that the Rüsselsheim-based company is "strongly" creating electric cars, adding: "Our goal is to make these cars really accessible to a broader customer base.

It starts with SUVs

A strong statement of intent was made during the presentation of the new electric Opel-Vauxhall Frontera, heir to the Crossland. It is a model also available with mild hybrid or battery powertrain, with a declared range calculated according to the WLTP cycle of more than 186 miles for the basic version and over 249 miles for the Long Range and prices (in the UK) starting from £35,395.

Vauxhall Frontera (2024)

Vauxhall Grandland (2024)

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Powertrain options made possible by the Stellantis multi-energy platform, which Opel-Vauxhall does not, however, want to continue to exploit. "With the Frontera and the new Grandland we are completing Opel-Vauxhall's first phase of electrification, where electric and combustion engines coexist," said Huettl, who went on to emphasise that "we will move forward with the next generation of Opel models that will be exclusively electric. We set a good example with the Experimental concept. Opel-Vauxhall likes to work with concept cars and turn them into reality. The Experimental shows the next step in our plans to go fully electric with future models.

Now it's the turn of the small economy car

In order to make electrics more and more accessible, Huettl anticipated that Opel-Vauxhall is working on a new economy electric car with a starting price of less than €25,000 (approx. £22,000). It will in fact be a 'cousin' of the new Citroen C3 and the upcoming electric Fiat Panda, thus based on the Stellantis Smart Car platform.