Opel reaffirms plans for electric Manta

Opel is still working on an electric reinterpretation of the Manta. This was confirmed by brand boss Florian Huettl to the German publication Automobilwoche, denying the rumour from January that the project had been discontinued. “The Manta project is making progress,” says Huettl. “We are working on the project and are sticking with it because we are convinced that what once worked very well will continue to be relevant for people in the future: namely an emotional car with a history that touches people. In the future, of course, purely electric.” However, the new Manta will not necessarily be a coupé. “This car will not be a copy of the historic model. It will be a car for a broad target group. But I can assure you that we will treat our history with great respect.”

Under former Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller, it was announced in the summer of 2021 that the Rüsselsheim-based Stellantis subsidiary intended to launch a particularly emotional electric model, the Manta-e, by “the middle of the decade”. This had become apparent following the many positive reactions to the Manta GSe ElektroMOD concept presented in May 2021. Since then, however, the project has largely disappeared from the public eye.

In the interview, Florian Huettl also discussed Opel’s other electric car plans. As previously announced, despite the current weakness of the electric car market, Opel is sticking to its plan not to deliver any new models with a combustion engine in Europe from 2028. “Nothing has changed in our plan. From 2025, every new Opel coming onto the market in Europe will be purely electric,” emphasises Huettl. “The models for this have long been in development. We are absolutely confident that this is the right path.” Huettl is encouraged in this by the development of electric cars: in 2023, the company was able to increase sales of its battery-electric vehicles by 22 per cent to around 90,000 units. That was 13.5 per cent of total sales of 670,000 vehicles.

Probably the biggest challenge for Opel, as for other European car brands, is the competition with Chinese manufacturers. And in particular the race for affordable e-cars. Opel still has work to do, Huettl admits to Automobilwoche. “Our electric cars must remain affordable for our customers,” says Huettl. “Our goal is a car around 25,000 euros.” He is therefore aiming for the same price region as VW, for example. It is not yet clear when such an Opel will be launched. The electric entry-level model will come with the next generation of the all-electric platform, says the Opel boss, without giving an exact or at least approximate date.

automobilwoche.de (in German)