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New Vauxhall Astra will deliver 'big leap forward'

Date: 25 March 2015   |   Author:

Vauxhall is promising that its new Astra will be a "big leap forward" across the board, although managing director Tim Tozer said the car's emissions figures will be "competitive" rather than class-leading.

"It's a big leap forward," he told BusinessCar. "I'm not going to say it will be absolutely best in class on every measure in a CO2 sense - there are big challenges and compromises you have to make and we won't make some of those compromises just to get a headline figure."

Tozer (pictured) said the new Astra, launching in the fourth quarter of 2015, will be a desirable overall package.

"It will have very strong design, a fabulous interior, great powertrains, light - to be honest, a car you will give full consideration to," he declared. "The current Astra is still a great car but this one will be more desirable and aspirational."

Vauxhall will build five-door and Sports Tourer models at the Ellesmere Port factory in the UK, the latter model being built exclusively at the Cheshire plant. Tozer confirmed that a replacement for the three-door Astra model, the GTC, won't be a main concern.

"The GTC will continue as a fine-looking car, but the next-generation Astra will be separate from the GTC, which is not a priority," he said. "The rigorous investment/payback decisions we're making are a bit more robust than in the past, and small niches, however sexy they may be, won't be our focus."

The new Astra will come with Vauxhall's latest 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine, and will also be the first Vauxhall to be fitted with the Onstar in-car technology system as standard across the range.

Tozer also promises the range will be "cleaner" in terms of trim levels than other  Vauxhall line-ups.
"We're slightly unusual in that we tailor trims for fleet and retail," he said. "When I first joined the company I thought it was a bit complicated, but it works. There will be some cars for retail with offers on the bonnet and some aimed at fleet with lower P11D."

He claimed that Vauxhall has cut the complexity in half on the new Corsa against its predecessor across body, powertrain, trim and transmission options.



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