Opel’s 2010 Astra hatchback will definitely be sold in South Africa from the first quarter of 2011. This is according to General Motors South Africa which has confirmed retention of the brand, a good sign in these greatly uncertain times.
“The certainty around the future of Opel is great news for South Africa and allows us to build on the fine history of the Opel brand and the Corsa and Astra ranges,” says GMSA Vice President of Planning, Ian Nicholls.
The Astra will of course, take on its old traditional rivals, the Volkswagen Golf and upcoming Ford Focus, as well as the likes of Mazda3, Toyota Auris X, Honda Civic hatch, Hyundai i30, Peugeot 308 and Renault Megane.
GM is confident that the materials used to build the Astra, its styling and engines will help it take centre stage among those other competitors. It also hopes to reclaim the buying public’s imagination in the same way that the old Kadetts used to.
These engines they are talking about include a 1.4 petrol turbo worth 103kW, a 132kW 1.6 turbo and some diesels. At the moment we don’t know which of these engines will make its way down to Mzansi yet.
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