Adam Opel AG - Return to Prosperity in Postwar Era

Return to Prosperity in Postwar Era

Germany's new federal republic prospered in the 1950s, and Opel marketed cars that reflected this new affluence in their design. Opel cars were loaded with chrome, their style heavily influenced by American automobiles. The 1952 Olympia Rekord featured a famous "shark mouth" grille, and the 1957 Rekord had "panorama" windows. Opel also adopted the practice of updating its models every year, as American car makers did, and the company began to export its cars to the United States. In 1956, the two-millionth car rolled off Opel's assembly lines.

Key Dates:

1862:
Adam Opel begins making sewing machines in Rüsselsheim, Germany.
1886:
Production of bicycles starts at Opel's factory.
1895:
The company founder dies, leaving the firm in the hands of his sons.
1899:
With the help of newly hired engineer Friedrich Lutzmann, the firm produces the first Opel automobile.
1901:
Opel begins jointly producing cars with the French automobile company, Darracq.
1902:
The first car built entirely by the Opel brothers goes on the market.
1909:
Opel introduces a low-priced car that becomes very popular, known as the "Doctor's Car."
1911:
Large fire at the Opel factory leads the company to exit from the sewing machine business.
1914:
Following the outbreak of World War I, production shifts to emphasize trucks for the armed forces.
1923:
German economic crisis forces the closure of the Opel factory.
1924:
After studying the car production methods of Henry Ford, the Opel brothers install an assembly line at the factory, which is reopened and begins producing the popular "Tree Frog" model.
1928:
The firm becomes a stock corporation, Adam Opel AG.
1929:
General Motors Corporation (GM) purchases 80 percent stake in Adam Opel.
1931:
Opel becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of GM.
1937:
Production of bicycles ends.
1939:
After the beginning of World War II, the Rüsselsheim plant is converted to wartime use.
1945:
More than half of Opel's main factory is destroyed by Allied bombing.
1947:
Automobile production resumes.
1948:
GM reassumes management control of the company.
1962:
Second large factory complex opens in Bochum.
1982:
Production of the new subcompact car called the Corsa begins at a new factory in Zaragoza, Spain.
1988:
The Opel Vectra makes its debut.
1992:
State-of-the-art plant opens in Eisenach in the former East Germany.
1998:
Redesigned Opel Astra is launched and soon becomes GM's best-selling car in Europe.
2002:
Company opens a new plant in Rüsselsheim.

In 1962, Opel's 100th anniversary, the company opened a second large factory complex, in Bochum, and also expanded its facilities at its flagship site in Rüsselsheim. In 1966 a testing center in Dudenhofer and a component manufacturing plant in Kaiserslautern were also opened.

Throughout the 1960s Opel continued to expand its model line, adding the Kadett A to compete with compact cars, and revamping older models. In 1970 the company introduced the Ascona and the Manta, both designed with a more sporty look. The Manta quickly gained a place in German popular culture as the workingman's dream car. By the end of 1972 Opel held the largest portion of the German car market with 20.4 percent.

In 1975 West Germany's automobile market entered a boom period, and Opel expanded its production capacity to keep pace with demand, adding 10,000 workers at its Rüsselsheim plant in just four years. The resultant crowding and pressure to produce created tensions between the plant's workers and its GM management.

In 1977 Opel added to its model line with the Senator, designed to appeal to Germany's ever-more-affluent middle class. Two years later the company added its first car with an engine over the front wheels, rather than behind the car. By this time, however, the German auto boom was over, as rising fuel costs made larger models unattractive. Opel's overly optimistic sales estimates caused it to suspend production at its main plant for ten days at the end of the year, in order to ease an oversupply of its larger cars.

In 1979 GM managers announced an ambitious $2.5 billion investment plan to revamp Opel facilities, build new factories in Spain and Austria, and introduce new models in the important compact and subcompact ranges. The company planned to produce a subcompact car called the Corsa at a plant in Zaragoza, Spain, and to start the production of a newly redesigned, aerodynamically sleek Kadett at Opel's Bochum works. These steps were part of an attempt to change Opel's image from that of a traditional, conservatively dependable car to a technologically sophisticated car.