Why is opel called vauxhall

Opel designed cars are sold under the Buick badge in the U. Why is it tricky, you might ask? Well because while the U. So why are cars not sold under the Opel nameplate but rather Vauxhall?

The famous manufacturer can trace its roots back to a sewing machine designed in the , founded by the great Adam Opel himself. The company started off by building bicycles in , with its first car making an entrance some 13 years later in In fact, Opel became the first German car manufacturer to include a mass production assembly line in the building process.

The first car to ever come out of this new process was the Laubforsch. Opel held a massive Why not just switch to Opel? Opel never bought Vauxhall.

These days, of course, they are just brands used by GM Europe, the cars being identical. I sure do agree with that. My Opel Astra sounds a lot better than a Vauxhall Astra. Must be that custom exhaust you have. It used to confuse the hell out of me when I was a kid. We have both Opels and Vauxhalls on our roads. Plenty of Northern registered cars on Southern roads. Rather than see the well-known Vauxhall symbol, there is something else. What is Opel, and what has it done with Vauxhall?

Opel is a German manufacturing brand that develops and distributes cars under the Opel name; you would recognise the sideways lightning bolt logo as soon as you see it.

Opel builds vehicles that are also sold in other parts of the world under a variety of names. For example, its cars are sold under the Buick nameplate in North America and China, whereas it is called Holden in Australia. This in itself makes sense if you know anything about branding. These markets are overseas, but the UK is part of Europe, the same place as Germany. Opel manufactured its first car in , whereas Vauxhall did not create its first car until Both brands proved popular at home, and Opel even caught the eye of American corporation General Motors, thanks to its vast market share within Germany.

The partnership has endured ever since. But what about Vauxhall? Its first cars certainly conjured up interest, with a successful Y-Type that was one of the most comfortable and relaxing vehicles currently in existence. The build quality declined, and strikes in the 60s and 70s put Vauxhall in a precarious position. Conversely, the economic surge in West Germany meant business was booming for Opel.

It was then that General Motors decided to implement Opel designs into British Vauxhalls to ensure the future of the company.