The two millionth vehicle rolled off the production line at the Opel plant in Gliwice (GM Manufacturing Poland) on April 9th. This unique car is a Holden Cascada with a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine with 170 hp. The elegant convertible in Deep Sky Blue is intended for the Australian market.
The production of Holden Astras and Cascadas for Australia and New Zealand started in the Gliwice plant in February of this year and is a part of the recently announced strategy to strengthen the cooperation between Opel and other GM brands. In addition, at the end of the year the production of the Buick Cascada, designed for the North American market, will begin.
"The two millionth car produced by Opel in Gliwice is the symbolic opening of the next phase of development of our plant, which will be complemented by the launch of the new generation Opel Astra later this year. We are a very well integrated and experienced team, and that help us achieve our goal of producing world-class vehicles," said Andrzej Korpak, GM Manufacturing Poland managing director.
The two millionth car of the Gliwice plant represents the comprehensive experience and flexibility of the local team, while currently produces five models on one assembly line. The first car, the Astra Classic, was produced in Gliwice on August 31, 1998.
Over the years, the Gliwice team has built an excellent reputation by assembling high-quality cars including the small city car Opel Agila, four generations of the compact Astra and the Zafira compact minivan. Currently, the plant produces the elegant Cascada and compact Astra in four body versions.
The Opel factory in Gliwice is one of the largest employers in the region. For over 16 years, it has been producing cars for various markets in Europe, Africa, North America, Asia and Oceania and it is one of the largest exporters in Poland. The plant is also one of the best GM plants in terms of the energy consumption thanks to its successful environmental projects focused on the optimization of the energy management.
Opel is one of the fastest growing brands in Poland. In 2014, the brand sold more than 28,000 vehicles in the country (+41 percent) and was able to rise to number four of the Total vehicle market with a market share of nearly 7.2 percent. The upward trend continued this year: In the first quarter of 2015, sales increased by 23 percent and market share by 1.7 percentage points, compared to the same period last year.
The Cascada is a 4.70 meter-long, elegant mid-size class convertible. A classic four-seater with an elongated silhouette and sophisticated soft-top, it offers open-air driving fun in premium quality at a very attractive price. The Cascada’s electric soft-top can be opened at the press of a button at driving speeds up to 50 km/h in just 17 seconds – or also via remote control when the car is stationary. Best Opel chassis technology is featured as standard on the Cascada’s front axle with HiPerStrut (High Performance Strut) suspension, guaranteeing driving fun and superb traction.
