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Holden's former European sibling – Opel, now part of the same global automotive group as Peugeot – has revealed it has considered an Australian entry since a short stint in the market a decade ago.
The source of the final Holden Commodore – Opel – has revealed it has considered a return to Australia under French ownership more than a decade after it pulled the plug on an 11-month stint in local showrooms.
However, the German car brand says it has struggled to create a "sustainable business case" in what is one of the world's most competitive new-car markets, helped by minimal tariffs and our proximity to China.
Along with forming the basis of plenty of Holdens – from the Astra hatch to the 2018-20 Commodore, a rebadged Opel Insignia – Opel briefly sold cars under its own name mid-last decade.
It lasted just 11 months in the market, with fewer than 3000 cars were sold – nearly half of which were delivered after the brand announced its exit.
Opel CEO Florian Huettl told Drive at the Munich motor show the company has considered returning to Australia,
"Australia, in the last rounds [of evaluation], has not proven to be a ground for us where we think we can create a sustainable business case for our partners.
"That doesn't mean we don't regularly update our planning. But as of today, we have no immediate plans for entering the Australian market."
The German brand operates in New Zealand, launching there in 2022 with a range of petrol, hybrid and electric cars, intended to capitalise on new incentives for low-emissions cars.
But it has sold just 20 cars over the first eight months of 2025, down 90 per cent on its tally of 208 vehicles over the same period in 2023 – in an overall market down 16.5 per cent.
Emissions rules along the same lines as what New Zealand introduced – but has subsequently dropped – are now in force in Australia, but Huettl said Opel still needs a healthy demand forecast before entering a market.
"This is true for Australia, but also for other markets, what we evaluate is the adequation of our offer to the most relevant segments, and the segment mix. The demand of the customers in Australia and the Opel offer needs to match.
"We have brought a lot of new cars to the market this year, with a new Frontera, which is a very interesting multi-energy family car. We have brought the Grandland, which is a much bigger C-SUV [RAV4-sized] than what we've done in the previous generation.
"So obviously in the next waves of evaluation, we will look at the Opel at that time, and the market at that time, and then we will take it from there."
The executive acknowledged that being part of a global group "makes it easier for us to create certain areas of presence," given siblings Peugeot, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, and more are present in Australia.
However, he was coy on whether Inchcape – the local distributor of Peugeot and, formerly, Citroen cars – has approached it to sell the brand in Australia.
"We are in good discussions whenever we evaluate our options. We are in good discussions between the regional management, potential partners, and the brand, and this is how we move forward and evaluate."
Opel announced its Australian exit in August 2013 after just 11 months, as its need to "significantly reposition the price of its core volume models" to "be competitive", and "the continued investment required to ensure brand awareness," would result in it no longer being "financially viable".
Executives in Germany set a target of 15,000 sales in Australia by 2015, but by the time plans to shut its doors in August 2013 were announced, just 2897 vehicles had left showroom floors.
If the market in 2013 proved too difficult for Opel to crack, it is even more difficult in 2025.
Cars from China accounted for just 0.6 per cent of new vehicles sold in 2013, in a market comprised of 50 brands (excluding trucks).
Today, nearly 20 per cent of new vehicles reported as sold are made in China – most undercutting Japanese and European cars that Opel would find itself competing with – in a market which has swelled to nearly 70 brands.
Peugeot sales in Australia have slumped by 57 per cent between 2013 and 2024, while Volkswagen deliveries are down 34 per cent over the same period – both key rivals for Opel in Europe.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
