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New Astra to 'articulate' advances

Date: 20 November 2014   |   Author:

The new Astra, due around 12 months from now, will 'articulate the brand journey' as Vauxhall continues to improve its vehicles and reputation, according to UK boss Tim Tozer.

"Vauxhall and Opel has suffered from not having collective brand strategy - it went in and out of segments and [we] did some stuff well and some not so well, but now there is a strategy and product plan," he said. "The next-generation Astra is a very compelling car - sporty, and able to articulate the brand journey."

Tozer continued: "The Astra as a car today is good but heavy - an Astra 1.6 'whisper diesel' [the new 1.6] is a fine car, but it can't quite overcome the 200kg disadvantage. We have to get to the next generation to address that. We will be back competitive at that point. It's lighter and has investment in powertrains, interior touch and feel and design."

Tozer has recruited a brand marketing director to devise a new strategy for the brand, although the firm won't yet name the person starting in January. "We have to strike a stronger resonance at all levels," he said. "We're a value proposition - it doesn't mean cheap and certainly doesn't mean we will be premium," he said. "From the point of view of design, attention to detail and driveability, can we act as an antidote to premium? I've got no doubt the cars are good enough, [but] the challenge is marketing.

"It is a journey. It's not a criticism of our organisation, but we haven't had the brand marketing competence within it," Tozer continued. "How can we be bold and break through?"

Before the Astra, Vauxhall will introduce its new Viva in 2015, a small car sitting at the budget end of the firm's offering. "Viva will be an entry point for Vauxhall," Tozer said, confirming that the car will be priced from under £8000. "We won't be able to get to the price of a Dacia, but we're selling more than a Dacia in terms of touch, feel and integrity," he added.

Tozer also lamented the demise of the pioneering Ampera plug-in, which will exit the line-up early next year.

"Were we able to exploit what we should have been able to with being very early to market with the Ampera? No," he said. "Because you know, a car like that in the early days doesn't add up in the numbers sense, and it came at a time when GM Europe was struggling financially and no one suggested you can do what Toyota did [with hybrid] and take a loss."

Tozer did confirm, though, that GM has plans to address electric, but he was unwilling to give any more detail.



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