Opel is buzzing when it comes to vans. The brand has not only launched a range that has been rejuvenated in record time in the showrooms, but is now also responsible for the development of all new company cars for Groupe PSA. Techzle discusses the current situation with Pascal Martens, Director Light Commercial Vehicles at Opel.
The story of Opel’s vans was one of trial and error. This was because the brand has long depended on other manufacturers from which it adopted models. Yes, of course there were the in-house developed Combos, but there was mainly that strong connection with Renault, which already led to the Opel Arena, a derivative of the first Renault Trafic in the 90s. Successor Vivaro, once again a Renault copy, became a success story, which was continued in 2014 with the tandem Trafic-Vivaro, which was jointly developed by the two brands, which was unveiled at the time – as a first for both brands – during a joint static press presentation. More than five years later, the plug went out violently: PSA took over Opel and the Vivaro immediately had to take on the guise of the Peugeot Expert.
With the Combo, the background was even more erratic, with a forced trip to Fiat first because the Kangoo of regular partner Renault was not available. And the great Movano? He still has a permanent relationship with the Renault Master, of which he took over the improved interior during the last major renewal round, but not the stepped front that the Master did get. In time, the Movano will become a pure PSA product. That is to say: he links up with the cocktail trio Boxer, Jumper and Ducato. Well, then Opel will of course run into ex-partner Fiat again.
OTHER POSITION
“Our brand is now in a completely different position,” says Belgian Pascal Martens from Rüsselsheim. “When you buy vehicles from third parties, you are automatically less competitive. From now on we will build our own company cars and as Groupe PSA we can call ourselves the LCV market leader in Europe. This awareness lives throughout the organization, where LCV activities are approached with a completely different focus. To be honest, we were a bit behind in this area; it was generally considered by dealers to be much more interesting to talk to customers about passenger cars than vans. Anyone who takes the trouble to research the LCV business will, however, discover how interesting and lucrative this part of the market is. This has struck me even more since I held this position. And now Opel / Vauxhall is one of the fastest growing LCV brands in Europe. ” Martens has now been at his post for over a year, albeit since the covid outbreak, just like his colleagues in the home office. How does the latter go? “Very good. Everything we would otherwise do in the business, everyone does for themselves from home, so even the engineering of the new models. It works.”
It is all a bit bitter, because the biggest gain for the people of Opel in bringing ultimate responsibility for the delivery vans to Rüsselsheim was that the colleagues involved were physically within reach. Martens: “It is different if you are a co-developer or if you do everything in-house. In my team I have five or six product managers who no longer have to travel to Turin or Paris to consult Fiat and Renault; they just walk to their colleagues at our development center nearby. The French colleagues, partly from Renault and especially from PSA, also often come to us. Anyway, now the contact goes online for the time being. And of course the overall LCV business units are still managed from Paris. ”
LEADING
Why was Opel, of all, within PSA taking the lead in the development of new models? The brand does not have a huge track record in this area, we have established at the beginning of this article, while Citroën and Peugeot traditionally have. “Yes, because we certainly worked hard in the development of the previous generation Vivaro. That car was not a matter of the simple rebadging of the Renault Trafic. The decisive factor in the decision was that we here have the capacity to handle that important task. Since the retirement of GM, many capable people have become available here who were eager to take on a new project. Moreover, we also have the ideal conditions here, with a test complex nearby and indoor facilities that can also handle large delivery vans. It was a very good decision for Groupe PSA to move the development of the commercial vehicles to Rüsselsheim. ”
It is not that only Opel people work on the new models and it is not entirely the responsibility of Pascal Martens. “I don’t care which brand the engineers come from, they could just as well be Opel, Citroën and Peugeot people. It is important that everything is now done indoors. We still have a relationship with Renault for the Movano, but that will of course end with the next generation. ” Currently, the Combo is the only Opel delivery van to have a strong signature of its own. “That’s because we were involved in the development of that model series at an early stage. The Vivaro had to be quickly adopted, so that there was no time to adjust the design. With the next generation we try to take it into account more, even if that own image is less important as the vans get bigger and the purchase by private individuals and entrepreneurs, who also drive them privately, has a smaller share. Such a thing does not play a significant role in the Movano. ”
MAIN ROLE OF DEALERS
Opel is using the acquisition by PSA to further professionalise the dealer network throughout Europe. “Previously, not every Opel dealer was allowed to sell vans, now it is. To advise customers on installation and conversion, we need specialized dealers, for whom we have set up the European Business Center Concept, with new standards for sales and service to business customers. ”
This brings us to a sensitive point: if the delivery vans are almost identical to each other, how can a brand like Opel distinguish itself? Martens looks at it pragmatically: “Look, it’s about vans. And in general they are all comparable, twin brothers or not. The details that exist between the makes and models will not make the difference to customers. That task rests with the dealers. The customer must know that he can contact Opel for the entire spectrum of models, from small, medium to large, and that there are specialists who advise on the right choice of the model, on the build-up and conversion, and on financing and leasing. . The dealer is the reliable partner that the entrepreneur can always rely on. ” So the product comes second? “It is very different from passenger cars, where emotion plays a major role. The customer can simply assume that our LCVs are good. ”
It is striking that Opel uses the slogan German tools that drive your business – even untranslated in the Netherlands. Everyone knows that the Vivaro is not a German car, right? “Maybe, but that German character can relate to much more than just the product. We especially want to say that they can count on us. ” Martens sees conveying that message as one of his greatest challenges for the future. “Together with the enormous acceleration of change in the behavior of end consumers under pressure from covid. Our industry must above all offer products and services that meet the explosive rise in home delivery. ”
Pascal Martens (50) joined General Motors in 1994, where he held positions for Opel (often in combination with Vauxhall, Chevrolet and / or Cadillac) from Lisbon, Breda, Rome, Moscow and Rüsselsheim. He moved to Groupe PSA three and a half years ago, where he became Director Sales, Customer Care and Aftersales for Opel and Vauxhall. He has been Director Light Commercial Vehicles for these brands since November 2019.