The first Opel Antara built in Russia-has rolled off the assembly line in St. Petersburg. In 2008, production volume will increase up to approximately 2500 vehicles.

Assembly of the Opel Antara has started at General Motors’ Arsenal assembly facility in St. Petersburg. During the construction of General Motors’ permanent plant in Shushary, the Arsenal assembly complex has been both the headquarters of GM’s manufacturing team and its regional employment and training center. The Shushary facility, which is scheduled to come on stream in late 2008, will employ a workforce of 900 and have a total capacity of 70,000 vehicles per year.

Alain Visser, Opel Brand Director, commented: “We’ve enjoyed tremendous success on the Russian market. During the first eight months of the year, Opel sold about 40,000 vehicles in Russia, with 278% growth compared to the same period of 2006. Today, Opel is the fastest growing foreign brand in Russia, and the significance of the market for us is underlined by Russia now being our fifth-largest market in Europe. In line with our philosophy of building where we sell, it has been a natural decision to select the Opel Antara for local assembly. With its great design, the new Antara stands for the brand rejuvenation of Opel. This car is more than only a SUV, it is a stylish answer to the needs of a modern market.”

The Antara will be built in St. Petersburg with a choice of two engines, the 2.4L with 140 hp and the 3.2L with 227 hp.Opel’s new compact model joins a strong line-up of General Motors SUVs in Russia. The compact Chevy Niva SUV (built at the GM AvtoVAZ joint venture) was followed by the Chevrolet Tahoe and Trailblazer (built in Kaliningrad), and then, last year, by the Chevrolet Captiva, which, like the Antara, is built at the ‘Arsenal’ facility in St. Petersburg.

Jacek Gorski, General Manager, GM Russia, is confident about the Antara’s prospects on the Russian market: “In view of the continuous popularity growth of the SUV segment which now accounts for 19% of the automotive market in Russia we expect the Antara to do extremely well here. The Opel Antara represents a blend of excellent driving dynamics, stylish design and a highly-capable 4-wheel drive system.”

The Opel Antara 5-seater was directly derived from the much-acclaimed 3-door Antara GTC concept-car, which was introduced at the 2005 Frankfurt Auto Show. In addition, the Opel Antara also has a very spacious interior yet featuring compact exterior dimensions and innovative equipment such as the "Flex-Fix" rear rack.

News source: duemotori.com
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