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VAUXHALL AG

VAUXHALL's website: http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/
VAUXHALL Chinese website:

Company Information

VAUXHALL—— One of GM company's brand.

Vauxhall Motors is a British automobile company. It is a subsidiary of General Motors Corporation (GM), and is part of GM Europe. Most current Vauxhall models are right-hand drive derivatives of GM's Opel brand. There are also several performance vehicles coming from Opel Performance Center (OPC), Holden/Holden Special Vehicles in Australia and Lotus Cars of Norfolk, England.

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Company History

Alexander Wilson founded the company in Vauxhall, London in 1857. Originally named Alex Wilson and Company, then Vauxhall Iron Works, the company built pumps and marine engines. In 1903, the company built its first car, a five-horsepower model steered using a tiller, with two forward gears and no reverse gear. This led to a better design which was made available for sale.

To expand, the company moved the majority of its production to Luton in 1905. The company continued to trade under the name Vauxhall Iron Works until 1907, when the modern name of Vauxhall Motors was adopted. The company was characterised by its sporting models, but after World War I, designed more austere models.

 

GM purchase

In 1925, Vauxhall was bought by GM for US$2.5 million. The influence of the American parent was pervasive and together with the Ford Motor Company, Vauxhall's main competitor, led to a wave of American influenced styling in Europe that persisted through to the 1980s. Bedford Vehicles, a subsidiary constructing commercial vehicles, was established in 1930 as the Stock Market Crash of 1929 had made importing American lorries uneconomical.

During World War II, car production was suspended to allow Vauxhall to work on the Churchill tank, which was designed at Luton in less than a year, and assembled there (as well as at other sites). Over 5,600 Churchill tanks were built.

 

Post World War II

After the war, car production resumed but models were designed as a more mass-market product leading to expansion of the company. A manufacturing plant at Ellesmere Port was built in 1960. During the 1960s Vauxhall acquired a reputation for making rust-prone models, though in this respect most manufacturers were equally bad. The corrosion protection built into models was tightened up significantly, but the reputation dogged the company until the early 1980s.

By the late 1960s, the company was achieving five-figure sales on its most popular models including the entry-level Viva and larger Victor.

 

1970s and 1980s

Vauxhall's fortunes improved during the 1970s, with an updated version of the Viva continuing to sell in huge volumes.

By 1973, however, the Victor was losing sales in a market that was becoming increasingly dominated by the hugely popular Ford Cortina. The Viva was still among the most popular cars in Britain, as a facelift in 1970 stopped the design from becoming too outdated. But this wasn't enough to keep Vauxhall from being well behind market leaders Ford and British Leyland in the sales charts, and most of its range was struggling even to keep pace with Chrysler UK (formerly the Rootes Group). Vauxhall's sales began to increase in 1975 with the launch of two important new models - the Chevette, a small three-door hatchback that was the first car of its kind to be built in Britain and the Cavalier, a stylish four-door saloon designed to compete head-to-head with the all-conquering Ford Cortina. By the end of the 1970s, Vauxhall had boosted its market share substantially and was fast closing in on Ford and British Leyland.

At the end of 1979, Vauxhall moved into the modern family hatchback market with its Astra range that replaced the ageing Viva. The Astra quickly became popular with buyers, but the 1981 Mk2 Cavalier - the first Vauxhall of this size to offer front-wheel drive and a hatchback bodystyle - was the car that really boosted Vauxhall's fortunes. The 1983 Nova supermini (replacement for the Chevette) completed Vauxhall's regeneration, and it soon overtook Austin Rover as Britain's second most popular carmaker. The Astra further strengthened its position in the market with an all-new 1984 model that featured an aerodynamic design reminiscent of Ford's larger Sierra. By 1979, Vauxhall had increased its market share substantially, but was still some way behind Ford and British Leyland, even though it had overtaken Talbot (the successor organisation to Rootes and Chrysler UK).

Vauxhall's most important model of the 1980s was the 1981 Mk2 Cavalier, which made the transition from rear-wheel drive saloon to front-wheel drive hatchback (though there was still a saloon version available, complemented in 1983 with an estate). For much of its life it was Britain's most popular large family car, vying with the Ford Sierra for top place. The Cavalier was relaunched in 1988, an all-new format which won praise for its sleek looks and much-improved resistance to rust.

Vauxhall refused to rest on its laurels after the turnaround of the early to mid 1980s, and before the decade was over there was more to come. The range-topping Carlton (Opel Omega elsewhere) relaunched in 1986 and was voted European Car of the Year, and the Cavalier (Mk3) entered its third generation in 1988 with an all-new sleek design that further enhanced its popularity. The Calibra coupé followed in 1989, which was officially the most aerodynamic production car in the world on its launch. Most importantly, the latest generation of Vauxhall models had eradicated the image of rusting cars that for so long had put potential buyers off the Vauxhall brand.

By 1989, Vauxhall was on something like equal terms with the Rover Group as Britain's second most popular car brand behind Ford.

 

1990s

In 1993, things were still looking strong for Vauxhall. The Cavalier was firmly re-established as Britain's most popular large family car with more than 130,000 sales, while the third generation Astra (relaunched in 1991) with 100,000 sales was continuing to narrow the gap between itself and the best-selling Ford Escort. The decade-old Nova was axed in 1993 in favour of the all-new Corsa; its distinctive styling and practical interior began attracting more sales than its predecessor had done.

In 1994 GM ceased production of Bedford vehicles, which had been Vauxhall's commercial vehicle arm, making successful vans, trucks and lorries since the 1930s. Van production continued at Luton, now under the Vauxhall name.

The Cavalier nameplate was axed in 1995 after 20 years and Vauxhall adopted the Vectra nameplate for its successor, completing a policy by General Motors that aligned and identically badged all Vauxhall and Opel models. Vectra received disappointing feedback from the motoring public and several well-known journalists, most notably Jeremy Clarkson. Yet it was still hugely popular, and for a while after the 1999 facelift it was actually more popular that Ford's highly-acclaimed Mondeo. The Astra entered its fourth generation in 1998, and offered levels of build quality and handling that bettered all of its predecessors. The 1999 Astra-based Zafira compact MPV set new standards for practicality, and achieved sales volumes that were previously unimaginable for MPVs.

It was around this time that Vauxhall was being heavily criticised in several high profile car surveys. In 1998, a Top Gear customer satisfaction survey condemned the Vauxhall Vectra as the least satisfying car to own in Britain. A year later, as a brand Vauxhall was slated as the least satisfying make of car by the same magazine's customer satisfaction survey. Its model range came in for heavy criticism for breakdowns, build quality problems and many other maladies which meant that quality did not reflect sales success. Despite this, Vauxhall was competing strongly in the sales charts and by 1999 was closer to Ford in terms of sales figures than it had been in years.

 

21st Century

The first years of the 21st century saw Vauxhall further strengthen its position in the British market, and continue to narrow the gap with Ford. The Corsa was regenerated in 2000 and offered a better-handling, better-built and better-equipped package than ever before.

2002 was one of the best years ever for Vauxhall sales in the UK. The updated Corsa (launched in 2000) was Britain's second most popular new car, and gave the marque top spot in the British supermini car sales charts for the very first time. The Astra was Britain's third best selling car that year, while the Vectra and the Zafira (a Compact MPV launched in 1999) lurked just outside the top ten with relatively strong sales.

The Vectra entered its second generation in 2002 and was further improved over earlier Vectras, but was still hardly a class-leader and now had to be content with lower sales due to a fall in popularity of D-sector cars; although a facelift in 2005 sparked a rise in sales.

Perhaps the most important Vauxhall product of the 2000s so far is the fifth generation Astra, launched in early 2004 and praised by the motoring press for its dramatic styling which was a world of difference from the relatively bland previous Astra. It was an instant hit with British buyers and was the nation's second best selling car in 2005 and 2006, giving the all-conquering Ford Focus its strongest competitor yet. The second generation Vectra went on sale during 2002 but has not sold as strongly as its predecessor. Its successor is due in 2008 and will give Vauxhall a fresh new competitor in a sector which has shrunk considerably in Britain over the last few years.

The second generation Corsa had been Britain's most popular supermini for most of its production life, but by 2006 it had started to fall behind the best of its competitors, so an all-new model was launched. This Corsa was far better than either of the previous Corsas, and it was an instant hit with buyers.

In 2006, the second generation Zafira was Britain's 10th best selling car. It was the first time that an MPV had featured in the Top 10 best-selling cars in Britain.

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