It was 8.40 a.m. last Wednesday when applause erupted in the final assembly line of the Eisenach plant. Opel CEO Florian Huettl had just announced some major news to hundreds of employees at the plant: the successor to the Grandland compact SUV, which is currently rolling off the production line at the plant in Thuringia, will also be “made in Eisenach”. Electric, of course, because Opel is committed to becoming a purely electric brand in Europe by 2028.

Florian Huettl and Managing Director HR Ralph Wangemann came to Eisenach in person to deliver the good news in a morning town hall meeting . Huettl paid tribute to the team on site. Despite the significant challenges posed by the pandemic and the logistical difficulties, the Eisenach team had delivered. “Made in Eisenach” is now a real sign of quality. Ralph Wangemann also thanked the team for all their commitment: “Competitiveness and quality pay off”.

To enable the allocation of the Grandland successor in Eisenach, Stellantis is investing more than 130 million euros in the tradition-rich location. And the spirit in the workforce was correspondingly high. After all, the perspective for the plant at the foot of the Wartburg is clear. Dieter Schlageter, for example, an employee in the paint shop, said: “I’ve been here for almost 30 years and have experienced a lot during that time. The news that we will be producing the Grandland successor here makes me very happy – especially since it will also be electric.” And Heiko Schmidt, employee maintenance body shop, said: “This is good news because it means reliability and security – for young and old. The new model means the future and is a sign that things will continue successfully in Eisenach.”

Political VIPs as guests

No wonder that political personalities had also found their way to Adam-Opel-Straße for this important announcement. Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow and Economics Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee as well as Eisenach’s Mayor Katja Wolf were all among the guests of honour. The German media also reported extensively on this important step towards securing the future, including the BILD newspaper, the German press agency dpa, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and local media such as the Thüringer Allgemeine or the MDR.

At the media event that took place in the visitor’s forum of the Eisenach plant following the internal announcement, Opel CEO Florian Huettl explained the reasons behind the the decision to allocate the Grandland successor to the plant in Thuringia: “For 31 years, we have been building top-quality vehicles here in Thuringia and have improved our competitiveness step by step in the process. We will continue down this path with the electric successor to the Opel Grandland,” said Huettl. “This decision is another important step for Opel on the way to the declared goal of being a purely electric brand in Europe by 2028.” With the successor to the Grandland, we are opening the next chapter of the success story in Eisenach.

According to plant manager Jörg Escher, this Wednesday was “a great day for Eisenach”: “We have worked hard for this success. We have used the past months intensively to make the plant fit for a purely electric future – and we did it completely with our own team during the non-production times. This high investment is a “huge compliment” to the team, he said. “Thanks to team spirit, drive and assertiveness, we are showing how to turn tradition into the future.” The Grandland successor, which is scheduled for production from the second half of 2024, will be the first Opel to be based on the all-new “STLA Medium” platform. The current Opel Grandland has already been in production in Eisenach since 2019, including plug-in hybrid versions.

“Location with a great tradition”

Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow, by now a regular visitor to the plant, told the media and guests of honour: “Thuringia is an automotive location with a great tradition that is currently making the transition to electric mobility at top speed. Against this background, I am particularly pleased that Opel is playing a decisive role here and will be producing a model with a future in Eisenach.” Works Council Chairman Bernd Lösche was also pleased: “This is good news for all employees here at the site. With this production allocation, the commitment of the entire workforce is paying off, who have always understood how to build the Grandland in the best quality in challenging times.”

At the plant itself, you can see in virtually all areas that preparations for the Grandland successor are already underway. For example, supply chain areas have been cleared to make room for new body shop facilities, which are necessary for the all-electric version and some of which have already been installed. Things are also already happening in final assembly, walls are being broken through and some areas resemble a large construction site.

Securing the site

The plant in Eisenach, Thuringia, which opened in September 1992 with the production of the Opel Astra, celebrated its 30th anniversary last year with an open day attended by 3,000 guests, commemorating the production of a total of 3.7 million vehicles. The investment in the site that has now been announced is an important step towards fulfilling the goals of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan and securing the location for the long term. Or as Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow put it: “Now we can look forward – even more – to the 35th anniversary of the plant, which will be excellently positioned for the future with the electric Grandland successor.”