Opel Resumes Antara Production

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 05:39

Opel will resume production of the Antara turbo diesel in January. With a new calibration, the starting weakness should be eliminated, said an Opel spokesman for the Autogazette.

By Thomas Flehmer

Opel will be producing diesel models of the Antara with manual gearbox again from January just two months after the production stop. "We are making a new attempt at the beginning of the year, so that at the end of January and beginning of February the SUVs will be available for sale at dealers," said Opel press spokesman Sven Markurt on Wednesday of the Autogazette.

Calibration optimized

The Rüsselsheim-based company had stopped production of the two-liter common rail diesel engine in mid-November due to a weak start. "We have now optimized the engine calibration and thus improved the start-up behavior", says Markurt. However, the problems were not as serious as originally assumed.

The waiting time for customers is no longer that long. Opel had targeted delivery of the successor to the Frontera for February 2007. The majority of customers who opt for a diesel variant of the Antara will receive the vehicle slightly late after the two-month production stop. Between 80 and 90 percent of all Antara customers opt for a diesel engine.

No stop at Chevrolet

While Opel stopped production, work continued with the identical sister model, the Chevrolet Captiva. The importer from Bremen had already presented the off-road vehicle in the first half of 2006. "There were no complaints, no complaints and no criticism from customers about the engine," said Chevrolet press spokesman Uwe Rowold about the Autogazette, "that's why everything stayed as it is." However, the engine was subjected to a three-week special test, "after which there was the green light," says Rowold.