Rüsselsheim - Opel has confirmed that it will introduce an all-new Corsa hatchback in 2019, and that (as had been expected) it will be based on new parent company PSA’s CMP architecture, which will also underpin the next Peugeot 208.
This forms part of the group’s strategy to gradually shift all Opel products over to Peugeot’s platforms, in order to save development and production costs, while also dodging royalties on technology developed when GM owned the German brand.
Opel’s Crossland X and Grandland X crossovers are already based on PSA platforms through a partnership that was formed before the French Firm bought Opel, and despite having a great deal in common beneath the skin, the Opel products still have their own distinctive styling.
This bodes well for the new Corsa retaining its own design personality, although its acclaimed 1-litre three-cylinder turbopetrol engine will almost certainly be replaced by PSA’s 1.2-litre PureTech equivalent, which is offered in normally aspirated and turbocharged guises.
Although not officially confirmed, it’s a given that Opel’s Astra and Insignia models will eventually be replaced by cars based around PSA’s weight-saving EMP2 platform that currently underpins Peugeot’s 308, 3008 and 508.
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The flexible platform, according to PSA, allows each brand to personalise their cars to match the respective “brand character”.
“Hardware, software, the choice of modules, different set-ups, calibration – all this helps us create a brand-specific character for each and every car. It also permits us to safeguard and further develop the Opel DNA and make sure that an Opel drives like an Opel,” said Opel’s engineering head Christian Müller.
Opel to develop group’s new 4-cylinder engine
Furthermore, Opel will take responsibility for various PSA engineering projects.
This includes developing the next-generation ‘high-efficiency’ four-cylinder engine range that will be used across all PSA brands (Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall), it was announced at Opel's tech day in Rüsselsheim this week.
The engines, which will come on stream from 2022, will be used in conjunction with electric motors in future hybrid models, and will feature turbocharging, direct injection and variable valve control.
The new four-cylinder engines will exist alongside the Peugeot-developed PureTech three-cylinder units.