The recent revival chez Opel has been as welcome for loyal customers as it has been for the thousands of workers the company employs across Europe.

Opel will next month host over 550 journalists from across Europe for the international press launch of two new engines in the Opel Mokka and the Insignia.

In 2014, European car sales rose for the first time in seven years as buyers replaced aging vehicles with low-cost ones. The market’s revival from a two-decade low is set to continue in 2015.

EUROPEAN car sales rose 4.3% in May, the ninth consecutive monthly gain, as the recovery in consumer confidence continues on the back of new models from Renault and Volkswagen.

IT MAY be that sister company Hyundai is now self-proclaimed as ‘Ireland’s fastest growing car brand,’ but Kia has been making steady progress here in recent years and the most recent registration figures to the end of May showed the Korean firm competing well inside the top ten selling marques with a very healthy 4.57% market share for the first five months of the year.

THE race to maximise sales from next month’s new 142 registration plate has started with a host of offers to induce customers to buy new cars.

I HAVE to say it saddens me more than a little I have not had a lot of good to say in recent years about Opel. That is not because I have taken a sudden turn against the brand, but rather because the company itself has not being doing a whole lot lately to inspire its loyal customer base — or me, for that matter.

Adam Opel, the European brand of General Motors, is targeting second place in deliveries in the region in the coming years as new models attract buyers.