Opel will renew its large SUV, the Grandland, in 2024, which will now only be offered in an electrified version. It will be produced in the Eisenach plant in Germany, which currently manufactures all versions of the Grandland, from the internal combustion engine to the rechargeable hybrid (PHEV), including the high-end GSe finish.
Since 2017, the Opel Grandland has been based on the mixed EMP2 platform (ex-PSA), like the Peugeot 3008 and 5008. But from 2024, the Grandland will inaugurate the new STLA Medium platform used for the C segments (Opel Grandland and Peugeot 3008) and D (Peugeot 5008). The wheelbase of the STLA Medium platform is expected to increase beyond the current 2.68 meters of the EMP2, as the floor will accommodate the battery packs.
The production of a 100% electric Opel in Eisenach was made possible thanks to an investment of 130 million euros announced the same day by Stellantis. It’s about modernizing”the most compact of our German factories“, said Arnaud Deboeuf, director of production at Stellantis. The Opel brand is called “become a 100% electric brand in Europe by 2028“, for his part recalled Florian Hüttl, CEO of the German manufacturer.
For the record, the Eisenach plant, inaugurated in 1992, produced the Opel Adam, Astra and Corsa – i.e. 3.7 million vehicles – until its temporary closure, at the end of 2021, due to the shortage of electronic components.
Fearing a dismantling, the powerful German union ID Metall, supported by local politicians, had stepped up to the plate. As a result, Stellantis had abandoned a split project to announce that Eisenach would recover production of the Grandland model – manufactured on the production lines in Sochaux – at the start of 2022, the year of the 30th anniversary of the factory. The rest is known…