With just 69 units of its Adam city car sold in Ireland last year, 1.4 percent of the total of 4,909 Opels registered here, the sweet little runabout hasn't exactly contributed much to the brand's balance sheet, writes Brian Byrne.
But across Europe, the Adam has exceeded sales expectations in its hotly contested segment and is being credited with helping the brand marginally increase its European market share to 5.61 percent. The Mokka small SUV has also been a success for Opel.
More than a third of Opels sold in Ireland were Astras, closely followed by the 1,425 Insignias and some 60 Corsas. With 398 Mokkas registered here, the model represents just over 8.1 percent of Opel sales. In Ireland, Opel came sixth in the top ten in 2013, with 6.6 percent market share.
Meanwhile, after years of declining registrations in Europe, the auto industry is forecasting some 3 percent increase in sales for 2014 on the basis of customer surveys across all markets.
