Vauxhall Cars History
Vauxhall Motors was bought by General Motors in 1925 for 2.5 million $. And from that year Vauxhall was influenced by American cars and with Ford (that was Vauxhall’s main competitor) influenced the style of European car manufacturers.
From the 70’s, many of company models were designed and built in partnership with Opel in Germany (Adam Opel GmbH- known as Opel is an automobile manufacturer based in Germany). Models like Chevette, Cavalier and Carlton were basically restyled versions of the Kadett, Ascona and Rekord. The Viceroy was a simply new version of Opel Commodore imported from Germany.
And that was the beginning for the “Opelisation” of Vauxhall. General Motors policy was that Vauxhall to be rebadged Opels, designed and developed in Russelsheim with much less help from Luton.
The Luton plant closed in 2000, but production still continues at the plant in Ellesmere Port. Despite already meeting efficiency targets, Vauxhall has been told to further improve its productivity.