Opel had recently delivered the first ten Corsa-e Rally for the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup to customer teams. From now on, every owner of the production model can also give their electric car a rally look.

Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller is thinking aloud about a possible return of the Manta as an electric car. The feedback on the Manta GSe ElektroMOD study presented as a rendering in March had been so “overwhelming” that Opel’s market research would certainly play through a potential series version.

Opel reminds us that 50 years ago there was a prototype of the Opel GT with an all-electric drive that never went into series production. The ‘Elektro GT’ set a total of six electric car world records on 17 and 18 May 1971 on the Formula 1 circuit in Hockenheim.

The new 14-brand car company Stellantis has given more details about its electrification plans. These include four platforms for electrified models and more battery factories.

IT service provider Atos has announced that it will fully electrify its nearly 5,500 company cars by the end of 2024. Atos has chosen Renault and Stellantis as its main suppliers of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

The Stellantis Group has announced that three electric transporters from Opel, Peugeot and Citroën will also be offered with a fuel cell system this year, which should enable WLTP ranges of over 400 kilometres. Specifically, these are the Opel Vivaro, Peugeot Expert and Citroën Jumpy.

Opel has upgraded its battery centre at its headquarters in Rüsselsheim. In addition to the Ampera and Ampera-e, the batteries of all Opel models on the eCMP platform (currently the Corsa-e and Mokka-e) and Combo-e, Vivaro-e and Zafira-e Life are now tested and, if necessary, repaired there.

Opel is electrifying its cult model Manta. The carmaker has provided a first preview of the Opel Manta GSe ElektroMOD, a purely electric reinterpretation of the 1970 original. It remains unclear whether the electric Manta will remain a one-off or actually go into production.

Delivery problems with the Mokka-e are a thing of the past, according to Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller. In an interview, Lohscheller stated that any customer who orders a Mokka-e now should still receive their vehicle in 2021.

Opel now presents the electric passenger van Combo-e Life, which will be available from autumn in versions with five or seven seats.  In the UK Combo-e Life is marketed by Vauxhall.

VDL Bus Venlo will become an industrial partner of Camperfixx, a camper builder from Friesland. VDL will build compact electric campers based on the almost identical vehicles Peugeot Expert, Toyota Proace, Opel Vivaro and Citroën Jumpy. The first model is scheduled for completion in February.

As manufacturers scrambled to meet EU (and Swiss) CO2 compliance levels with a last-minute registrations splash-and-dash in December, Schmidt Automotive Research crunched the numbers with some astonishing results.

Opel-Vauxhall has presented the new Combo-e Cargo. From size and capability, the all-electric high-roof van fits in between the Vivaro-e electric van and the big Movano-e that the brand will unveil later this year.

PSA and FCA have now completed their merger, paving the way for the creation of Stellantis. The new group’s ordinary shares will start trading on Euronext in Paris and Mercato Telematico Azionario in Milan on 18 January, and on the New York Stock Exchange on 19 January, each under the symbol “STLA”.

The PSA Group recorded around 120,000 new registrations for electrified models in 2020, one reason it met the European CO2 targets. At the same time, the French company’s total sales slumped 27.8% to 2.51 million cars in the crisis year compared to 2019.

The Mokka-e model’s production capacities are already exhausted, and Opel-Vauxhall has even had to cancel contracts with customers. The PSA brand says that some variants of the Mokka-e are still sold out, others can still be ordered.

The Opel-Vauxhall Mokka-e won’t reach customers until March 2021. At the same time, demand is so high, some variants of the compact and all-electric SUV are sold out way into September next year.

In the UK, Opel’s sister brand Vauxhall announced a price reduction of the Corsa-e line-up which amounts to a £1000 reduction for the entry-level model.

Opel is looking to rekindle their sportier spirit once more as they suggest to release the Monza as a purely electric crossover model. Positioned above the Insignia, the electric Monza would use PSA’s planned eVMP architecture.

Opel boss Michael Lohscheller has revealed that the German carmaker is planning the first road tests with fuel cell cars in 2021. According to the report in a German newspaper, Opel intends to equip an unspecified number of small Zafira family vans with hydrogen fuel cells.

NHTSA, the US American Federal Highway and Vehicle Safety Administration, launched an investigation in response to complaints about Chevrolet Bolt electric cars catching fire. Again, there appears to be a problem with the batteries.

The French automotive group PSA has announced that it will establish charging infrastructures for its employees at all European locations. By the end of 2021, almost 500 charging stations are to be installed at 49 Group sites in twelve countries.

Opel has just announced the prices for the Mokka-e a few months after the world premiere. Deliveries are scheduled to start in early 2021.

Opel, known as Vauxhall in the UK, will electrify all light commercial vehicles by 2021. Enough for us to take a look at the all-electric van Vivaro-e and its passenger car variant, the Zafira-e. Our editor had a short test drive with both vehicles in Germany.

The new Opel Zafira-e Life is now available for order in Germany and most recently in the UK. The battery-powered passenger van will go on sale in early 2021 for prices starting at 53,800 euros, or £34,645 after the Plug-in Van Grant.

The French automotive group PSA with its German subsidiary Opel and the French energy group Total with its subsidiary Saft have now signed an agreement to set up the Automotive Cells Company (ACC) joint venture.

Electrically-powered commercial vehicles: Opel will also offer an electric version of its Movano van in 2021. Next year, the Opel Combo Cargo will also be available as an electric version. Meanwhile, the new Opel Vivaro-e, which can already be ordered, will be delivered from October.

Opel’s sister brand Vauxhall booked another large order for electric vehicles. After British Gas had ordered 1,000 Vivaro-e in July, Vauxhall now reports an order from Openreach, one of the UK’s largest fleet operators, for 270 Vivaro-e and nine Corsa-e.

The French car group PSA has announced a purely-electric car platform when the Group presented its half-yearly figures. PSA is deviating from the previous multi-energy strategy with the special e-platform called the Electric Vehicle Modular Platform (eVMP).

The Opel sister brand Vauxhall has received an order from British Gas for 1,000 fully electric vans, the Vivaro-e. According to the manufacturer, this is the largest commercial order for electric vehicles in the UK to date.