It’s official – Opel to stay and grow
Williams Hunt named as distributors of famous brand
SOUTH Africa’s 2017 Car of the Year, the Opel Astra, along with its Opel stablemates, has secured its continued presence in the market after vehicle retail group Williams Hunt was named yesterday as the official distributor of the brand.
Its future was thrust under the spotlight in March, when former Opel owners General Motors sold the German brand to France’s PSA Group, which builds Peugeot and Citroen vehicles.
Then, last month, General Motors shocked the nation when it announced it was withdrawing from the South African market, taking with it the Chevrolet brand.
With Isuzu – which was also one of General Motors’ major brands – not only retaining, but growing its bakkie and truck offerings in South Africa through a full take-over of General Motors’ facilities by Japan’s Isuzu Motors from the end of the year, the future of the two brands has now been secured.
Announcing Opel’s new official distributor yesterday, General Motors South Africa said Opel had cemented its commitment to South Africa.
It also planned to further strengthen the brand, while increasing its market presence in the country with a new distributor and the introduction of new models.
Williams Hunt, which was one of the largest dealership groups associated with General Motors and has an extensive presence in Nelson Mandela Bay, will become the official Opel distributors in January.
“The Williams Hunt group has been appointed as the dedicated distributor to distribute and sell the Opel brand in South Africa,” General Motors said in a statement.
“Williams Hunt has been a major and outstanding Opel partner for many years, contributing to some 20% of the sales already today.
“With this setup, Opel plans to further grow in South Africa and strengthen its brand and service to its customers.”
Opel, which intends introducing its new Crossland X in South Africa in the second half of this year and the Grandland X next year, has had a presence in the country since the 1930s.
Since 2012, Opel has introduced 13 new vehicles into the domestic market.
Its offerings include the Adam, Corsa, Astra and the Mokka.
International sales operations director Bill Mott said: “Opel has had great success in South Africa. Many of our models have received awards and acclaim from the motoring press.
“Just this year, the Opel Astra was the winner of the South African Car of the Year competition – a great indication of the brand’s ongoing success in this market.” Mott said Opel customers could expect the same quality of after sales support and no changes to existing warranties,
He said Opel sales in South Africa had grown by 9.6% compared to an overall market decline of 15.5%.
“We view South Africa as an important market.
“We are confident the brand will continue to go from strength to strength globally, and here in South Africa, because of the solid foundation that has been built in the 80-plus years Opel has been here,” Mott said.
General Motors Port Elizabeth spokesman Lunga Ntsendwana said Opel would be distributed through 35 dealerships nationally from next year, the majority of which would be Williams Hunt operations.
“Some dealerships will be franchised, but through Williams Hunt.
“The number of dealerships could increase according to demand going forward,” Ntsendwana said.