Opel has announced its intention to launch a new
generation Astra over the next couple of years. The compact model will enter
production in 2021 and will be built in Russelsheim, Germany. Based on PSA’s EMP2 platform,
already used by a multitude of models from Peugeot and Citroen, as well as the
Grandland X, the Astra L will also get an electrified version. The automaker
didn’t say anything else about it yet, except that it will be “a strong
contributor to Opel brand electrification”.
The decision to build it in Russelsheim, which is
where the second-gen Insignia is also being assembled, has been taken in
accordance with the PACE! plan, and in agreement with the works council and the
IG Metall. As a result, the PSA Group, which is Opel’s parent company, will
invest in the facility in order to prep it for the production of the next-gen
Astra.
Aside from the cash injection, the mutual agreement
allows employees born in and before 1963 to participate in a partial retirement
program. Furthermore, 120 apprentices will be hired in the plant annually in
the coming years.
