Ten-Millionth Opel Corsa Is Built In Eisenach

The Tenth Millionth Corsa Was Produced Yesterday

By Alexander Tallberg
January 25, 2008 8:32 PM
Filed Under: German

Today Opel announced that its Corsa hatchback, which has been in production since 1982, has reached a production milestone of 10,000,000 units! To commemorate the occasion at Opel's plant in Eisenach, Thuringen, Germany, state premier Dieter Althaus and German Economics minister Michael Glos attended the event, in which German actress Esther Schweins drove the ten-millionth anniversary ecoFLEX 1.3 CDTI off the production line.

Production began initially in Zaragoza, Spain in 1982 and after quickly reaching a ten percent market share in Europe, the first-generation Corsa (also known as Corsa A) racked up sales of over a million units by 1986. Following sales of 3.1 million units by 1992, the Corsa A is replaced by .... surprise surprise the Corsa B. During the 1990s Opel rapidly expanded production of the Corsa in Europe (Azambuja, Portugal and Eisenach, Germany), while initiating the production of the essentially identical, vaguely Americanized Chevrolet Corsa in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. Since the launch of the fourth-generation Corsa D at the British International Motor Show in 2006, over 550,000 units have been sold.

Ever since the European Union announced its carbon dioxide target rate of 120 g/km, car manufacturers have been keen on undercutting that rate by the smallest possible margin and adding an ECO-label in the model name, which is exactly what Opel's done. The ecoFLEX is supposed to emit a meager 119g of CO2 and there's no reference to its horse power rating. I, for one, think that the milestone car should have been the Corsa OPC. What do you think?

Source: Opel

Press Release (Click to expand)

German Economics Minister Michael Glos and Minister-President of the German State of Thuringia Dieter Althaus were present as actress Esther Schweins drove the ten-millionth Opel Corsa off the production lines at the plant in Eisenach. The anniversary car is a Corsa ecoFLEX 1.3 CDTI, which emits an especially low 119 grams CO2/km. Minister Glos highlighted the important contribution to employment and growth that Opel has brought to Eisenach with its production plant. “The development of the automobile industry in the new German states has been highly successful, and Opel has played a major role in this success here in Eisenach."

State premier Althaus emphasized the fact that the Opel plant in Eisenach, with its highly efficient production processes, is one of the most important production sites in the state and a driving force behind the impressive resurgence of the automobile and supplier industry in Thuringia. “Thanks to this center in Eisenach, more than 18,000 people have a state-of-the-art workplace in Thuringia’s automotive industry today,” said Althaus.

Hans Demant, Managing Director of Opel, added his praise: “Thanks to excellent quality in all areas, the Opel plant in Thuringia is highly competitive in the global market. And the new Corsa ecoFLEX we’re building here is a pacesetter when it comes to environmental compatibility.”