Vauxhall / Opel range-topping SUV on the way

Vauxhall (and Opel) are planning a large range-topping SUV / Crossover to tap in to the still growing SUV market. But perhaps not until 2020.

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GM are still struggling to make Vauxhall and Opel work, and the latest plan is to launch a trio of new SUV / Crossover models in the next five years.

Two of those are replacements for the Meriva and Zafira, but it has now been confirmed that there will be a new, range-topping SUV Crossover model which will arrive before 2020.

Details are virtually non-existent, but Mary Barra, GM CEO, has said the new model will be built at Russelsheim by the end of the decade, with €245 million invested in the model and a further €500 million in GM’s engine and transmission plants.

Perhaps a clue to what we can expect from a new big Vauxhall SUV comes in the guise of the Monza Concept (pictured above) that arrived last year without any clear purpose.

The Monza looked swoopy and sporty from the front, but asn you moved back it turned in to a shooting brake or estate, and it wouldn’t take much imagination to see it as a more high-riding SUV that would fit the bill.

Mary Barra said:

This SUV will be the second flagship alongside the Insignia.

Opel/Vauxhall is of high strategic importance for GM. The product offensive with 27 new models and 17 new engines has enjoyed a very successful start. These additional investments will help the brands shine again and further strengthen our position in Europe. They are a clear sign of GM’s commitment to Opel/Vauxhall, to Germany and to Europe.

No doubt, as time passes, we’ll start to get some real detail on Vauxhall Opel’s new, big SUV.