General Motors Co's European unit Opel is planning to introduce a premium model above its top-of-the-range Insignia as well as an electric car smaller than its Ampera, Opel's new head told a German paper. "The Opel brand can't content itself with the Insignia." Karl-Friedrich Stracke, head of Opel since April, was quoted saying in an interview with Welt am Sonntag.
The model would come to market in four to five years in a new crossover segment not directly competing with models offered by BMW, Daimler or VW's Audi, Stracke added.
The company also wants to launch another electric car the size of the Corsa hatchback or the Agila subcompact in addition to its Ampera, a version of the Chevrolet Volt, the head of Opel was quoted as saying.
Stracke also wants to push Opel's expansion outside its European domestic market, he said.
His predecessor Nick Reilly, now chairman of Opel's supervisory board, had previously targeted a figure of around 100,000 units.