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Douglass was quick to tell me that Vauxhall had a very successful year from an order take point of view, but due to the chip crisis it has struggled to deliver those vehicles and put them into market. He says: "We're sitting at about a seven-and-a-half-month order bank in true fleet, but supply is not a dilemma that we would have expected. It gets better this year, B-segment and C-segment are expected to start to improve - particularly on Astra hatch - but the electric landscape continues to be challenging.
"Astra Sport Tourer supply has been impacted, although in the short-term this was an internal decision because we launched the hatch first. We had a long order bank on the hatch, so for customers waiting the longest, we're using the available supply to prioritise these hatch orders. It is not that we can't produce the Sport Tourer, we've just prioritised the hatch. We launched the Astra with a high spec, and we haven't taken any of it away. So, later this year, when it starts to improve, we'll put the Sport Tourer into build.
"Last year we did 5.5% total share in the market. But the two cars we could supply in volume were in the B-sector - the Corsa and Mokka. Our C-segment registration performance was significantly lower than anyone expected, as our supply just wasn't there. Astra is a good opportunity to build back to 7 or 8% share."
2023, Douglass tells me, is about Vauxhall strengthening its EV offering, He says: "If you look at our segment, we've got the widest, as in parts of the market that we cover with our electrified product. So, we are way ahead of anyone. That's driven by a compelling B-Segment electric offering that a lot of other manufacturers don't have, plus the fact that we've got a completely electrified van suite.
"GSe Astra is massive, but the story that's really going to be interesting, is the 54kWh battery going into Mokka, Corsa and Astra. That gets within touching point of 250 miles of range, and I think at that point, we're getting toward to the point of a precipice where range anxiety becomes less of an issue. There are some infrastructure issues that are out of our control, but as an upper mainstream manufacturer we are getting to the point of making EV accessible to most people. We are performing well with the electric product that we've got and as we get more models, it's going to keep going.
"We find we get a much higher conquest rate from electric cars; I think the expectation is that we will accelerate that. EV buyers have been coming back into the market and considering all the brands again - it's like all allegiances to brands have broken down! We've seen a lot of people switching brands to Vauxhall with the acceleration of EVs. As we improve the performance of our EVs, we're bringing more people into electric that are open to switching brands. That's how I see it happening."
Douglass believes the GSe brand is a massive opportunity to continue to drive reappraisal of the Vauxhall brand. He says: "We are firmly in the mindset that we are in the upper-mainstream part of the market. We're a brand that has the product and the strength of the brand equity to sell itself - beyond any discounting! I think GSe is about breaking that wall, it just gives people another reason to consider the brand as forward-thinking that is making beautiful electric products. It gives us another reason to speak to people, again about what we're doing in the electric space - probably a bit quicker and beyond what our competitors are doing.
"Across the segment, I don't think there's another hatch that Astra should be afraid of in terms of its design, interior and technology. The GSe just adds another string to its bow. It gives it another reason to sit alongside premium competitors. I would say the Astra is the new Vauxhall benchmark, although you might perceive it as 'punching above its weight,' but that's where we are now."
On top of the brand reappraisal, Douglass says that GSe models will be another opportunity for fleet success. He says: "We know that our C-segment market for plug-in hybrids splits 55% true fleet and then 25% in retail, with the balance in Motability and demonstrator fleets.
"I'd be very surprised if we don't do half of our GSe order take in fleet. Just because that 40-mile electric range and low BIK story really makes sense. We've also managed to keep the list prices competitive, so people looking for automatic vehicles with a higher power output, will conclude that this is way better for them financially. Within our hybrid range, GSe makes a lot of sense. Through the dealer network, we will have a full suite of demonstrators out there by April, for customers to try it."
Douglass believes the growth of Vauxhall EVs in all segments is going to continue to accelerate. He says: "I think as the product gets better, and we're putting more variety into the market with models like GSe, we will continue to grow at speed. It's not like some of our competitors, where you might have to lose something in terms of styling or technology. We've never done that, as we've tried to bring interesting propositions into the market. I think we're past the point of no return, and that's no bad thing, we're just going to continue to grow. Last year, as a mix of our total order bank, EV sat at 30% on the car side, and I think this year we'll continue to push on towards 40%.
"From the car side, the key stories for this year are GSe, followed by Mokka long-range with order banks opening in March for that. Then we get into the summer, and we have deliveries of the Astra EV hatch and at some point in H2, the EV versions of the Astra Sport Tourer estate. The fourth story is the Corsa face-lift with deliveries in Q4, which brings the 54kWh battery powertrain as well."
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