Opel/Vauxhall: Significant Growth in the Light Commercial Vehicle Business in the First Quarter

• Strong increase in LCV sales in Europe
• Opel/Vauxhall market share in March up to 5.3 percent
• Vivaro-e is the best-selling BEV in its segment

Opel/Vauxhall has seen a strong increase in its light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales in the first quarter of the year. In Europe, sales went up 26 percent to 29,000 units and market share stood at 5.3 percent. March was the strongest month of the quarter: While the European LCV market bounced back from the downturn caused by the Corona pandemic, Opel/Vauxhall profited significantly with market share increasing from 4.9 percent a year ago to 5.3 percent – OV sales more than doubled to 12,500 units.

From January through March, Opel and Vauxhall also performed remarkably well in their respective home markets: Opel share in Germany’s LCV market increased to 6.2 percent (+0.2 PP), Vauxhall share in the UK to 9.8 percent (+0.3 PP).

One reason for this success is Opel/Vauxhall`s ongoing electrification of the entire LCV range: In Q1, the Vivaro-e was the best-selling battery electric vehicle (BEV) in its segment in Europe. “By the end of this year, our entire award winning LCV portfolio consisting of the Combo, the Vivaro and the Movano will be electrified. This will give us further impetus and boost our sales even further,” said Michael Lohscheller, CEO of Opel/Vauxhall.

As part of its export offensive, Opel is also expanding its LCV business in markets outside Europe. Thanks to the fast increase of sales in important export markets like Turkey, Ukraine, Russia or Morocco, international LCV sales tripled in the first quarter of the year. This upward trend is likely to continue, as Opel is launching LCVs in several additional markets such as Ecuador and Columbia, Tunisia and La Réunion this year.