Opel Agila III (Notizie)

[Touareg 2.5]

Vauxhall/Opel will not abandon the traditional city car market even if its new style-led premium Adam is a success.Marketing chief Volker Brien has confirmed to Autocar that the entry-level Agila will be replaced because the segment still requires cars that meet “basic needs at a good price”, but the firm is open to expanding the Adam line-up should it be a hit.

“Everything is possible with the Adam,” said Brien. “But we have to look at how it is adopted and its market performance.”

Brien said the Adam’s trump card in any future expansion could be that “unlike Mini, we don’t need to follow a historical direction”. He said Opel would instead listen to customers and market demands as to how the Adam evolves.

“The Adam was only in development for three years so it shows how we can respond to market demands, as we did here when we saw the rise of premium city cars,” said Brien.

For the Adam to be a success for Vauxhall, it must do more than sell well and make a profit.

“Those are the initial goals,” said Brien, “but the Adam also has targets on what it does for the brand, raising our image and brand awareness. Our investment in the Adam is not just in the car, but also in a business opportunity.”

Brien also explained the naming strategy for the Adam’s trim and colour choices. Traditional S, SE and Sri trims are replaced by Jam, Slam and Glam, while colours all have pop and film references, such as Saturday White Fever and James Blonde.

Brien said there were “open discussions” about going for the names in a segment where ‘cool’ is everything but, decided to proceed because “in a car as bold as this, you have to be bold with everything”.