GM has completed the production shift of the Opel Mokka crossover from South Korea to Spain, with the first vehicle recently rolling off the Zaragoza plant’s production line.
Spain’s new King Felipe VI was a guest of honor at the official start of production, which followed an investment of €80 million ($10.3 million) that secured around 5,700 jobs at the plant.
Opel says the sub-compact SUV has racked up more than 275,000 orders since its market launch in the summer of 2012, making the Mokka the carmaker’s third most important model. Opel plans to invest nearly €210 million ($271.8 million) this year in the Zaragoza plant, following an investment of €168 million ($217.5 million) made last year.
The facility also builds the Opel Corsa and Meriva models, with production of the fifth-generation Corsa scheduled to begin this year. “Today is a good day for us. Producing the Mokka in Zaragoza helps us to better utilize our capacities in Europe and to serve our customers more quickly,” said Michael Lohscheller, Chief Financial Officer of the Opel Group.
Manufacturing of the Mokka will start with CKD (Completely Knocked Down) parts kits from Korea, but the amount of locally produced parts will be increased step by step in the coming years. “Producing the Mokka here is in line with our company philosophy to build cars where we sell them,” explains Michael Lohscheller. “This year, around 20,000 Mokka will roll off the assembly line in Zaragoza. Next year this number will increase considerably,” the executive added.
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