Opel gets over 30,000 bookings for new Astra

FRANKFURT, Feb 29, 2004; Reuters reported that General Motors unit Adam Opel said on Sunday that it had received more than 30,000 firm orders for the new version of its Astra hatchback, a direct competitor to Volkswagen's main hope, the Golf V.

Opel is counting on a successful launch for the car in March to help it recover from a 384 million euro ($479 million) operating loss last year as weak sales, currency effects, discounts and an overhaul of its sales network took their toll.

An Opel spokesman said a third of the orders were from its domestic market, Germany, and the order position was better than it had expected.

"We are already expecting a big success for the Astra," he said.

Opel, which has suffered from a tired-looking product range in a declining market, is pinning a good deal of its hopes for recovery on the Astra and has said it plans to roll out about 300,000 units this year.

It will be trumpeting the imminent arrival of the radically overhauled car at the Geneva auto show which gets underway in Switzerland in the coming week.

Having implemented a turnaround plan over the last three years, Opel is aiming to post a small operating profit in 2004 as cost cuts take effect.

Geneva will provide a last opportunity for rival Volkswagen to size up a car due to appear in showrooms in March and set to pose a direct challenge to VW's more expensive Golf.

The Astra, which unlike the Golf has been transformed on the outside, is also set to offer more bang for the buck under the hood. Drivers will have to fork out about 2,000 euros more for a mid-range Golf that can match Opel's 90-horsepower entry model.

Both cars face tough competition in a fiercely crowded market for mid-sized hatchbacks where the fifth generation of Golfs already appears to be struggling to make a mark.

VW is now offering free air-conditioning worth about 1,225 euros ($1,538) on the latest Golf which is only a few months old.

Meanwhile Volkswagen dealerships are now eroding their own profit margins by trimming several hundred euros from the Golf's list price and throwing in free extras such as CD players and paint options.