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THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT NEW DELHI GOTA REPORT ON OPEL, RUSSELSHEIM, GERMANY DATE: 15.10.2010 to 27.10.2010

NAME: BATCH: PHONE: E-MAIL: SECTION:

RAJ TILAK DAS UGP FW 2008-11 9873993362 rajtilakd@yahoo.co.uk FC-2

FACULTY: Prof. SURYA KANT JENA Mr. PARIKSHIT THUKRAL

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I hereby take this opportunity to thank The Indian Institute of Planning and Management, New Delhi, for providing me an opportunity to undertake GOTA programme. I would like to thank our tour guide Prof. Surya Kant Jena and Mr. Parikshit Thukral who gave me the first move towards this programme by teaching & introducing me to others. It was his knowledge and experience that I was inspired upon to look forward to this project from early days. I would also like to thank, OPEL, Russelsheim to provide us an opportunity to experience the production process in their unit. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my parents, dear ones and my friends, without their support this program & project would not have been successful.

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Abstract
It was a great experience to be in Germany. A nation which has so much history attached to it and has been a prime focus in most of the world affairs in the past and present. Germany is a state of pure charmthe weather, the people, the hospitality, the business and growth. It holds some of the iconic business houses in the world today. Automobiles and Germany have been synonyms. It was great to visit the headquarters and state-of-art production plant of one of the forerunners in the automobile industry, OPEL. Founded in 1862 in Rsselsheim, Opel is one of the most technologically advanced automobile manufacturers in Europe. They have a long and rich history. The company is shaped by the passion for cars. Together with Vauxhall, their sister brand in the U.K., they sell vehicles in over 40 countries. The company operates plants and development centers in seven European countries, and employ around 40,000 people. In 2011, they sold over 1.2 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Europe, achieving a market share of 6.1 percent. The state-of-art production plant actually gave us a clear idea of the production line of automobiles. It a wonderful experience to see the complete manufacturing process from the iron-sheets to the chassis to the coloring and finally the complete car being rolled out. We even got insights of the technology used by Opel, especially to build environmentally sustainable cars. We also saw other car manufacturing firms outsourcing their production to the Rsselsheim plant of Opel.

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Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields. Germany was a founding member of the European Community in 1957, which became the EU in 1993. It is part of the Schengen Area and since 1999 a member of the eurozone. Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, the OECD and the Council of Europe, and took a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 20112012 term. It has the world's fourth largest economy by nominal GDP and the fifth largest by purchasing power parity. It is the second largest exporter and third largest importer of goods. The country has developed a very high standard of living and a comprehensive system of social security. Germany has been the home of many influential scientists and inventors, and is known for its cultural and political history.

COUNTRY OVERVIEW President: Johannes Rau (since May 1999) Chancellor: Gerhard Schroeder (since September 1998) Independence: January 18, 1871 (reunification of West and East Germany took place on October 3, 1990) Population (2002E): 83 million Location/Size: Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark/137,821 square miles (slightly smaller than Montana) Major Cities: Berlin (national capital since 10/3/90), Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Essen, Dortmund, Stuttgart Language: German Ethnic Groups: German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish, Spanish) Religions: Protestant 38%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 1.7%, unaffiliated or other 26.3% Defense (8/98): Army, 230,600; Navy, 26,700; Air Force, 76,200 (including conscripts)

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PEST ANALYSIS
Country: Germany Capital: Berlin Germany is the Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation (after Russia), Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro. In January 2011, Germany assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term.

Political Conditions
The government is parliamentary, and a democratic constitution emphasizes the protection of individual liberty and division of powers in a federal structure. The chancellor (prime minister) heads the executive branch of the federal government. The duties of the president (chief of state) are largely ceremonial; the chancellor exercises executive power. The Bundestag (lower, principal chamber of the parliament) elects the chancellor. The president normally is elected every 5 years on May 23 by the Federal Assembly, a body convoked only for this purpose, comprising the entire Bundestag and an equal number of state delegates. President Christian Wulff (Christian Democratic Union - CDU) was elected on June 30, 2010. Its Political parties are:1) Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU). After the postwar German politics the moderate, ecumenical Christian party--the Christian Democratic Union (CDU)--made alliance with a related Bavarian party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). The two Parties form a common Motive in the Bundestag and do not run opposing campaigns. The CDU/CSU has adherents among Catholics, Protestants, rural interests, and members of all economic classes. This Party is generally conservative on economic and social policy and more identified with the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. Note:IIPM 5 3/20/2012

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Angela Merkel, Germanys current Chancellor, is the leader of the CDU and Horst Seehofer leads the Christian Social Union. The CDU/CSU currently holds 239 seats in the Bundestag.

2) Social Democratic Party (SPD) The SPD is infect one of the oldest organized political parties in the world. This Party originally advocated Marxist principles, but in the 1959 Godesberg Program abandoned the concept of a "class party" while continuing to stress social welfare programs. This Party implement the centrist Agenda 2010 reforms, designed to modernize the country's social system and labor market in 2003 The SPD has a powerful base in the bigger cities and industrialized states. Currently, 146 seats in the Bundestag are held by the SPD

3) Free Democratic Party (FDP) The FDP has traditionally been composed mainly of middle and upper class Protestants who consider themselves heirs to the European liberal tradition. It supports free trade and reducing the role of the state in economic policy. It is libertarian on social issues. in the September 2009 elections, the FDP joined with the CDU/CSU to form the current government coalition. Guido Westerwelle, 4) The Left. The PDS (composed largely of former East German communists) and the WASG (composed of western leftists) merged in June 2007 to form a party simply known as "The Left Party." The party's foreign policy is largely shaped by its rigid opposition to foreign military deployments. On domestic policy, the party opposes economic and social reforms, such and has aim to increase free markets and reduce unemployment benefits. 5) Alliance 90/Greens In the late 1970s, environmentalists organized politically as the Greens. This Party Motive was quiet Opposition of nuclear power, military power, and certain aspects of highly industrialized society were principal campaign issues. In the December 1990 the Greens merged with the Eastern German Alliance 90, a loose grouping of civil rights activists with diverse political views.

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6) Other parties. Because of the instability caused by the need for multi-party coalitions in the Weimar Republic, Germany's Basic Law today requires parties reach 5% of the vote to win seats in the Bundestag. In addition to those parties that won representation in the Bundestag in 2009, a variety of minor parties won a cumulative 6% of the vote, up from 2.7% in 2005. Several other parties were on the ballot in one or more states but did not qualify for representation in the federal Bundestag.

Economic Condition
GDP (2009 nom.): $3.339 trillion. Annual growth rate: 3.5% Inflation rate (September 2010): 1.3%. Unemployment rate (October 2010): 7.5%. Agriculture (0.9% of GDP in 2010): Products--corn, wheat, potatoes, sugar, beets, barley, hops, viticulture, forestry, fisheries. Industry: car-making; mechanical, electrical, and precision engineering; chemicals; environmental technology; optics; medical technology; biotech and genetic engineering; nanotechnology; aerospace; logistics. Trade: Exports--$1.124 trillion: chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel products, manufactured goods, electrical products. Major markets: France, Netherlands, U.S Major suppliers: Netherlands, China, France.

Germany is the largest national economy in Europe, the fourth-largest by nominal GDP in the world, and fifth by GDP (PPP) in 2008. Since the age of industrialization, the country has been a driver, innovator, and beneficiary of an ever more globalized economy. Germany is the world's second largest exporter with $1.120 trillion exported in 2009 (Eurozone countries are included). Exports account for more than one-third of national output.

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Of the world's 500 largest stock-market-listed companies measured by revenue in 2010, the Fortune Global 500, 37 are headquartered in Germany. 30 Germany-based companies are included in the DAX, the German stock market index. Well-known global brands are Mercedes-Benz, BMW, SAP, Siemens, Volkswagen, Adidas, Audi, Allianz, Porsche, and Nivea. Germany is recognised for its specialised small and medium enterprises. Around 1,000 of these companies are global market leaders in their segment and are labelled hidden champions.

Primary Sector: The Primary Sector of Germany is Agriculture, Forestry, and Mining. Germany has the ability to cover 90% of its nutritional needs with domestic production. In fact, Germany is the third largest agricultural producer in the European Union after France and Italy. Germanys principal agricultural products are potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, and cabbages.

Industry: Germany has a Great Achievement in the production of automobiles, machinery, electrical equipment and chemicals all over the world. With the manufacture of 5.2 million vehicles in 2009, Germany was the worlds fourth largest producer and largest exporter of automobiles. It is estimated, that about 1500 German companies occupy a top three position in their respective market segment worldwide. In about two thirds of all industry sectors German companies belong to the top three competitors. Tertiary sector (Service Sector) In 2008 services constituted 69% of gross domestic product (GDP), and the sector employed 67.5% of the workforce. The subcomponents of services are financial, renting, and business activities (30.5%); trade, hotels and restaurants, and transport (18%); and other service activities (21.7%)

Sociological Conditions
Language The official language of Germany is German, with over 95% of the population speaking German as their first language. Minority languages include Sorbian, spoken by 0.09% in the east of Germany; North and West Frisian, spoken around the Rhine estuary by around 10,000 people, or 0.01%, who also speak German.

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Danish is spoken by 0.06%, mainly in the area along the Danish border. Romani, an indigenous language is spoken by around 0.08%. Immigrant languages include Turkish, which is spoken by around 1.8%, and Kurdish, by 0.3%. Food, Custom & Ceremonial Occasion Special meals usually include meat, fish, or fowl, along with one of a number of starchy foods, which vary by region. Examples of the latter include kle (potato dumplings), kndel (a breadlike dumpling), and sptzle (a kind of pasta). Alternatively, Germans often celebrate in restaurants, which often feature cuisines of other nations. Greek restaurants tend to be more moderately priced, French restaurants are often more expensive, and the especially popular Italian restaurants span the range of price categories. The most important holiday meal is Christmas dinner. Regional and family traditions vary, but this often consists of goose, duck, or turkey, supplemented by red cabbage and potatoes or potato dumplings. Religion Religious practitioners in Germany include especially the Protestant or Catholic pfarrer (minister or priest). In local communities, the minister or priest belongs to the publicly acknowledged group of local notables, which also includes local governmental officials, school officials, and business leaders. Roman Catholic priests are, of course, local representatives of the international church hierarchy, which is centered in Rome. Protestant ministers represent Lutheran, Reformed, or United churches, which are organized at the level of the regional states. These state-level organizations belong, in turn, to the Evangelical Church of Germany.

Technology Factors
General assessment: Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country, dating back to World War II, has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part Domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to many foreign countries International:

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Germany's international service is excellent worldwide, consisting of extensive land and undersea cable facilities as well as earth stations in the Inmarsat, Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems (2001)

Energy and Natural Resources Like most modern states, Germany relies principally on fossil fuels as sources of energy. About 40 percent of German energy consumption comes from petroleum, largely for trucks and automobiles. About 30 percent comes from domestic coal deposits, half from lignite, or brown coal, in the east and the other half from anthracite located in the west. Natural gas provides about 17 percent of energy consumed, and nuclear energy about 10 percent. Other sources of energy, such as hydroelectric, solar, or wind-powered electric power plants, are relatively insignificant. Most production is in private hands. Electrical power comes almost equally from three sources: the largest (31 %)is generated by lignite, the next largest is from nuclear reactors (28 %), and the third largest is from anthracite (26 %). Natural gas provides about 7 Percent. The public's aversion to nuclear power that developed in Germany in the 1980s will likewise cause this source of power to become less important. Natural gas will become more significant. Germany has over twenty nuclear reactors, most of them small and having production levels below 2,000 megawatts per reactor. It has virtually no domestic uranium deposits and must import enriched uranium for its reactors. Most of the reactors in operation in the early 1990s were built during the 1970s and early 1980s. Reliance on nuclear power has become controversial, however. Because of the controversy, no new nuclear reactor has entered service since 1988. A number of older reactors dating to the 1960s have ceased operations. A major international energy crisis would be needed to renew impetus in Germany's nuclear energy program because the country is densely populated, and most of its inhabitants do not want a reactor near their houses or offices.

Foreign relations
Germany has a network of 229 diplomatic missions abroad and maintains relations with more than 190 countries. As of 2011 it is the largest contributor to the budget of the European Union (providing 20%) and the third largest contributor to the UN (providing 8%).Germany is a member of NATO, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the G8, the G20, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It has played a leading role in the European Union since its inception and has maintained a strong alliance with France since the end of World War II. Germany seeks to advance the creation of a more unified European political, defence, and security apparatus. The development policy of the Federal Republic of Germany is an independent area of German foreign policy. It is formulated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and carried out by the implementing organisations. The German government sees development policy as a joint responsibility of the international community. It is the world's third biggest aid donor after the United States and France.

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During the Cold War, Germany's partition by the Iron Curtain made it a symbol of East-West tensions and a political battleground in Europe. However, Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik was a key factor in the dtente of the 1970s. In 1999, Chancellor Gerhard Schrder's government defined a new basis for German foreign policy by taking part in the NATO decisions surrounding the Kosovo War and by sending German troops into combat for the first time since World War II. The governments of Germany and the United States are close political allies. The 1948 Marshall Plan and strong cultural ties have crafted a strong bond between the two countries, although Schrder's vocal opposition to the Iraq War suggested the end of Atlanticism and a relative cooling of German-American relations. The two countries are also economically interdependent: 8.8% of German exports are U.S.-bound and 6.6% of German imports originate from the U.S.

The Automotive Industry in Europe

Industry Structure
The transport equipment sector is the largest sector in the manufacturing industry and within this sector, the manufacture of motor vehicles including their parts, components and equipment is by far the biggest, resulting alone in over 10% of EU total manufacturing value. Furthermore, the production of transport equipment is also of major importance to upstream activities, most notably metal processing, rubber, plastics, electronics, textiles and engineering. The importance of the automotive industry for the Western European market is indisputable. In 2000, one third of the global production of cars was produced in Western Europe (i.e. 20 million passenger cars). In 1995, it was by far the industry sector in the EU with the highest number of people employed: 1.2 million persons work in manufacturing and assembling of motor vehicles and over half a million work in manufacturing of parts for motor vehicles. Adding up the jobs that are indirectly related to the industry, automobile manufacturers employ over 12 million EU citizens. It is an industry that closely follows the general business activity even though a severe downturn in the early 1990s shows how the recession affected the production of cars even more than the total manufacturing in Western Europe. During this time period, the manufacturing of cars declined while the production of parts and accessories experienced a strong growth. During the latter part of the 90s, a general rapid expansion in production took place as consumer demand recovered, and in 1997, production value totaled over 370 billion euros. According to OECD estimates, the total number of vehicles in OECD countries is expected to grow by 32 % from 1997 to 2020 and, on a global scale, with 74 % in the same time period. The European Commission estimates in its White Paper European Transport Policy for 2010: Time to decide that the demand for the transport of goods within the EU will increase with 38 %, and the demand for passenger transport by 24 % between 1998 and 2010. The activities are spread out over most Member States but for both sub sectors, motor vehicles as well as parts and accessories, Germany is the largest producer with about 40 % of the production respectively. The industry is also particularly important in the Swedish, French, Italian, Spanish and UK economies. The manufacturing of motor vehicles is largely done in very big companies (the worlds three largest companies in 1998 were all car manufacturers). In the EU, Volkswagen, Ford (Volvo), PSA Peugeot Citroen, General Motors and Renault are the biggest players in

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the manufacturing of passenger cars. In comparison with the main international actors, the USA and Japan, the patterns differ between the two sub sectors. For the production of motor vehicles, the EU was the leading producer in the Triad accounting for 42 % in 1995 while the USA produced one third and Japan the remaining quarter. The situation is reversed for parts and accessories where Japan represents half of the production and the USA and the EU produce one quarter each.

Trade
The industry is an important positive contributor to the EU trade balance. In 1999, the trade balance surplus exceeded 30 billion euros. The single most important exporter to the EU is still Japan, even though there has been a slight decrease since the 80s. The USA sells a substantial share of parts and accessories to the EU but the U.S. share of motor vehicles market in Europe is relatively low. For both sectors, several Eastern European countries have become increasingly important and Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland together have a share of over 20 % of the EU import. The main destination for EU exports is the USA, accounting for more than a quarter of the export of parts and accessories and as much as almost 40 % of motor vehicles. Just as for imports, several Eastern European countries have grown in importance as trade partners but also Brazil and Mexico have increased their share. Japan and Switzerland keep being important export destinations for motor vehicles.

Changes in Market Structure

A number of manufacturers dominate on the European level. When looking at individual Member State markets, these are often dominated by domestic manufacturers. These tend to have larger distribution infrastructure in their respective domestic markets and the customers preference for cars produced within the country still plays an important role. The need to reduce this dependency on domestic markets and to improve the competitiveness on markets elsewhere is of utmost importance. This is continuously being done, by investing in transplant production facilities and by joint ventures. There has been a reduction in the number of independent manufacturers, as niche producers have been acquired by high-volume manufacturers. In the late 1990s the leading firms grow significantly through mergers and acquisitions rather than by internal growth. Consolidation between the worlds largest vehicle manufacturers is a fact and one example is Daimler-Benz (D) and Chrysler (USA). As costs continue to increase, partnerships and alliances are providing a cost effective method to develop a competitive selection and to reduce dependence on domestic markets. Investments made by EU manufacturers abroad rose and were close to 40 billion euros in 1998. Again, Germany is the most active country, carrying out almost 75 % of the EU investment abroad. At the same time, and especially during the beginning of the last decade, there was a high degree of investment by south-east Asian producers in Europe, often justified as being in anticipation of the creation of the single market. The globalization process has greatly affected the sector and has resulted in leading manufacturers setting up transplants and negotiating alliances throughout the world. This has often lead to the development of transport specific geographical clusters. With an almost saturated demand in mature markets, attention is turned to countries like China, Malaysia, Indonesia and India in search of new customers. The densely populated countries of south-east Asia are considered as one of the key markets in the future with increasing mobility requirements and growing prosperity.

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OPEL
Adam Opel AG (Opel) is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929. The company is headquartered in Rsselsheim, Germany. It became a majority-stake subsidiary of the General Motors Corporation in 1929 and has been a wholly owned subsidiary since 1931. In 2010, Opel announced that it will invest around 11 billion in the next five years. One billion of that is designated solely for the development of innovative and fuel-saving engines and transmissions.

Adam Opel AG

Type Industry Founded Founder(s) Headquarters Number of locations Area served Key people

Aktiengesellschaft Automotive January 21, 1862 Adam Opel Rsselsheim, Germany 11 manufacturing facilities in 6 countries Global Karl-Friedrich Stracke CEO

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Stephen Girsky Chairman Products Services Revenue Employees Parent Subsidiaries Automobiles Financial services 9.994 billion (2010)[1] 39,958 (2011)[2] General Motors Company Opel Eisenach Opel Performance Center Opel Special Vehicles

Adam Opel AG is one of the most traditional car manufacturers in Germany, and one of Europes largest automakers. The company operates 11 vehicle, powertrain, and component plants and three development centers in seven countries, and employs around 39,000 people as of February 2011. Many additional jobs are provided by some 6,500 independent sales and service outlets as a direct result of their business with the automaker. With its sister brand in the U.K., Vauxhall, Opel sells vehicles in more than 40 markets worldwide. The company's Rsselsheim factory has been transformed to one of the most modern plants in the world for 750 million and started production in 2002. Other plants are in Bochum, Eisenach, and Kaiserslautern, Germany; Vienna/Aspern, Austria;Szentgotthard, Hungary; Zaragoza, Spain; Gliwice, Poland; Ellesmere Port, and Luton, UK. The Dudenhofen Test Center is located near the Rsselsheim headquarters. Opels International Technical Development Center (ITDC) and Design Center are also located in Rsselsheim. Around 6,500 people are responsible for the engineering and design of Opel vehicles. All in all, Opel plays an enormously important role in the global GM corporate group as it has for instance developed and engineered the Epsilon (I) platform, Epsilon II platform, Delta (I) platform, Delta (II) platform, Gamma platform and played an important role in the development of especially the higher-end, more-refined version of the Gamma II platform. In addition, the company is developing new manufacturing equipment for the global GM auto production. So Opel is in most cases fully responsible for all the car architectures and technologies up to the Opel Insignia/Buick LaCrosse/Chevrolet Malibu. In particular, all the future-oriented, modern, full-efficient GM architectures for compact and midsize vehicles are developed by Opel in Rsselsheim.

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Even the idea and concept behind the Opel Ampera is rooted in Opel/Germany with Frank Weber, the former "Global Vehicle Line Executive and Global Chief Engineer electric vehicle development" and therefore leader of the Volt-development, being originally an Opel-employee who was moved to the USA in order to advance the development of this prestigious, revolutionary concept in GM's home country instead of the German outpost that is Opel. In 2009, Weber returned during the reorganization of the Opel leadership to Opel as "Vice President Planning and Commercial Vehicle Operations" for the company. [10] In 2011, Frank Weber left Opel. Opel established Opel Performance Center GmbH (OPC) in 1997, which is responsible for the development of high-performance cars .

Facilities & Production details:

Production site Production since Products Comments Employees

Rsselsheim, Germany

1898

International Insignia (Sedan, Notchback Technical Development and Sports Tourer) Center (ITDC) Astra (5-door) Headquarters of Adam Opel AG Dudenhofen Test Transmissions Center Astra H Classic (5-door, Caravan)

14,900

Bochum, Germany

1962

Zafira Tourer Zafira B Family Transmissions Components Engines:

3,100

Kaiserslautern, 1966 Germany

Four-cylinder turbo diesel engines (1.9 liter)

2,700

ECOTEC alloy engines (1.9 to 2.2 liters) in several variants

Eisenach, Germany IIPM

1990

Corsa (3-door)

1,600

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Zaragoza, Spain

1982

6,500

Gliwice, Poland

1998

3,000

Tychy, Poland 1996

550

Aspern, Austria

Engines (1.0 Liter, 1.2 Liter, 1.4 Liter) 1982 Transmissions (Easytronic, five-and six-speed)

1,600

St. Gotthard, Hungary

Engines 750 Transmissions

1990

Ellesmere Port, United Kingdom

1962

Astra (5-door, Sports Tourer)

2,100

Astravan Vivaro Headquarters of Vauxhall Motors 1,100

Luton, United 1907 Kingdom

Sales in Europe
Year Units Market share

2012

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2011 1,213,602 6,1 %

2010 1,178,175 6,2 %

Key to Opel's innovations:

Flexibility- This is the way creativity meets everyday needs. By providing practical solutions. For example, seats that fold away, making room for large loads Comfort & Convenience- Opel spare no efforts to make your daily mobility simpler and more comfortable. On the one hand, they introduce revolutionary solutions such as the rear-hinged rear doors that facilitate cabin access on the Meriva. On the other hand, the premium comforts such as industry-best ergonomic seats available in the compact class. Safety- Opel is committed to the development of technologies that increase security for the consumers and passengers and the world around them. Driving dynamics- Driving is a pleasure. And they are constantly finding new ways to ensure you enjoy every drive. Pioneering technology

Rsselsheim Plant.
Facts and Figures
Location: Employees: Products: Capacity: Total site area : Rsselsheim 3,500 Insignia (Sedan, Hatchback and Sports Tourer), Astra 5-Door 180,000 vehicles 1,154,750 m

The plant in Rsselsheim connects history with the most modern production facilities. In 1862 Adam Opel made here his first sewing machine here, from the first cars: Opel Patent Motor Car, Doctors Car, Laubfrosch, Kapitn and the Admiral are just a few of the highlights from the 112 years of vehicle production in Rsselsheim. Today, the plant produces the innovative Opel Insignia and Astra, developed with German engineering

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and produced on the Global General Motors Manufacturing System, the standardized production system, with high quality and outstanding efficiency. History of the Rsselsheim Plant

1862 After years of employment as a journeyman metalworker, Adam Opel goes into business in his hometown of Rsselsheim: he builds his first sewing machine, laying the foundation for the Opel company. 1863 The company expands: Adam Opel hires his first employee, taking on his first apprentice two years later. 1886 Opel converts to bicycle production. 1899 Opel Patent Motor Car, System Lutzmann is the name given to the first Opel automobile. It marks the beginning of automobile production in Rsselsheim, and forms the basis for building the first utility vehicles. Within the year, the company makes its international motor sport dbut. 1902 The first Darracq chassis are outfitted with Opel bodies in Rsselsheim. The vehicles are marketed under the brand name Opel Darracq. The first model built entirely by Opel, with a newly developed 10/12 hp, two-cylinder engine, is completed in fall of the same year. 1909 Opel introduces an affordable compact car. The 4/8 hp two-seater, designed for customers who place great importance on dependability, becomes known as the Doktorwagen (Doctors Car). 1924 Investing one million gold marks, Opel completely modernizes its automobile production. The Rsselsheim plant is the first German manufacturer to introduce the high-volume production methods of the future, including assembly-line processes. The first car to roll out of the updated plant: the legendary 4/12 hp model, best known as the Laubfrosch (Tree Frog), in reference to its green body paint and protruding headlamps. 1935 Opel unveils the Olympia, Germanys first mass-produced car with an all-steel integral body and frame. Advantages: low weight, greater passive safety and improved aerodynamics. At the same time, a new manufacturing process developed and patented by the engineers in Rsselsheim is introduced: The so-called wedding that unites the prefabricated body shell with the chassis and mechanical assemblies. 1937 The company focuses on automobile manufacture, selling its bicycle production after building 2.6 million bicycles. 1940 The one-millionth automobile, a Kapitn In October, a directive from the Nazi regime brings passenger-car production to a standstill. In addition to truck models, military equipment such as landing gear for aircraft etc. are produced. 1950 Production begins again in full force. 1956 A newly constructed Press and Body Plant (K40) are opened. It is the largest industrial building in Germany. 1971 The ten-millionth Opel, a Rekord C Caravan, rolls off the assembly line. 1981 A new paint shop is opened, in which Opel becomes the first automobile company to use environmentally friendly water-based paint. Robots, modular techniques and the introduction of team work points the way to the future. 1989 The 25th-million Opel, an Omega A, rolls off the production line 1999 Opel celebrates 100 years of automobile production. The 50th million Opel, an Omega, is built.

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2002 In a newly constructed plant, which is considered one of the most modern plants in the world, the Opel Vectra and Signum models are assembled. 2008 Production begins for the new hatchback and sedan models of the Insignia, which was developed at the International Technical Development Center in Rsselsheim. 2009 The Insignia Sports Tourer and the Insignia OPC models complete the portfolio. 2010 The 16th-million Opel roll off the production line 2010 - 2011 Production of the Buick Regal, based on the Insignia, built for the North American market. 2011 August: start of production of the Astra 5-Door in addition to the Insignia

World Class Production- Setting standards for the industry:

Opels new production facility in Rsselsheim for the new Vectra sets new standards in terms of productivity, quality and flexibility. It represents a 750 million euros investment, will produce 270,000 cars a year, and has meant the biggest employee training programme in Opels history.

The skilled, highly experienced workforce is a key factor for the Rsselsheim site. Every employee in the plant there are currently over 7000 has taken part in an intensive training course. Along the lines of the "zero fault principle", the Opel teams first learned to avoid faults in production and secondly not to pass any on down the line or to accept any. To accompany this, optimum ergonomic design of the individual production areas was absolutely essential for creating the ideal working environment that is needed to adhere to this principle. The job of the special start-up teams from Opel's International Technical Development Center (ITDC) was to ensure that series production could go ahead smoothly. One of the methods used for this is the so-called "bucket build" concept, the basic principle of which is a staggered pre-production phase in the newly installed facilities, each with periodical optimization cycles. The advantage of this procedure is that it allows for continuous, step-by-step optimization with verifiable product readiness. Another strength of the "bucket build" concept is that the specialists from development and production work together closely, which means that the project can progress swiftly from both angles. Opel's engineers have already had good experience with this concept during the start-ups for the Zafira, Agila and Corsa, so it was only logical that they should adopt this proven process for the new Vectra, too. A number of measures were taken to guarantee high product quality from the start. For implementing the zero-fault principle, Andon systems (Andon = light signal) are installed at every station to help prevent defective parts being produced, received or passed on down the line. In addition, two cords are positioned at each work station the so-called "Andon cords". If an employee pulls the yellow cord, a light and an acoustic signal are triggered, requesting help from other members of the team. Pulling the red cord stops the assembly line until the problem has been solved. In addition,

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specific quality controls are integrated into the production line. For example, around 150 robot-controlled laser measurements ensure dimensional accuracy of the body shell. Besides this, ultrasonic tests ensure maximum weld quality in the production cells. The "Standardized Inspection Process" (SIP) functions in the same way as the Andon system and monitors the quality at the end of each production stage for example, in the stamping and body shops or any one of the final assembly areas. A complete check list with all the necessary quality criteria ensures that a part can only move on to the next stage if it achieves perfect results. Finally, computer simulations have made an important contribution towards optimizing processes and designing them ergonomically. For the design and planning of the new plant in Rsselsheim, Opel's production specialists at the ITDC relied more extensively on 3D layouts and innovative simulation tools than ever before. It is a field in which Opel has already amassed a great deal of expertise, achieving considerable recognition throughout the industry. The three-dimensional computer animations make it possible to depict reality to a level of nearly 100 percent. The deployment of such new technologies has led to previously unattained levels of reliability in the planning of the new plant and in the preparations for production start-up. Such systems have made it possible, for example, to simulate for the first time the highly complex final assembly area. Other sections that can also be simulated completely by computer models are the assembly and the body shop. In addition, the simulation experts at the ITDC in Rsselsheim, were involved with tool design in the stamping shop, the logistics concept and workplace ergonomics. The body shop, with an area of more than 54,000 square meters, started up at the same time as the assembly area. 600 robots have been programmed for welding, bonding and handling operations to ensure consistently high quality. Several operations will be performed by laser welding. One main characteristic of the particularly compact production process is its high flexibility, with up to four different models running largely on one combined line. All the add-on parts like the hoods and doors are made in production cells in the immediate vicinity of their assembly position on the main line. This avoids long transport distances and warehousing and also allows fast feedback on matters of quality. The compact structure of this manufacturing unit also guarantees a high level of availability. Another bonus is that the pilot production for new models can be carried out on the original equipment.

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The ground plan of the assembly building with a total area of 48,000 square meters is shaped like half a star. This form has particular advantages over conventional arrangements: it provides a good overall view of the entire production area, the distances are short and communications effective. Apart from this, 70 truck docking stations can be positioned in such a way that materials can be supplied directly to the relevant assembly point. The production line follows its path through four fingers of the star, and in the fifth, the door and cockpit modules are prepared and then integrated into the production flow. Each of these fingers forms a separate strand with its own buffer zone. Through this decoupled arrangement, any line stoppage at a work station (175 in all, in addition to inspection points and test stands) does not immediately affect the entire process. Another advantage is that different models can be assembled on the same production line. Materials and components are prepared on the basis of a precisely planned production sequence in a so-called Business Mall and supplied from there. This makes warehousing and complicated preassembly processes almost superfluous. At the heart of the star is the so-called nerve center with information boards and meeting rooms. Nearby rest areas for the employees and offices are positioned on the eastern side of the building in a three-storey wing with a total area of some 3000 square meters. The "Business Mall" is on the north-western side of the site. It is operated by a single service provider, who supplies the assembly shop with modules in precisely the right sequence. These modules are assembled from parts delivered by different suppliers. The modules are taken by truck directly to the appropriate docking stations of the assembly shop. These are located in the direct vicinity of the assembly points on the production line, where 73 components and subassemblies are taken immediately from the trucks and assembled. Some 50 percent of the materials needed for the assembly pass through this Business Mall. Ten components and modules come directly from suppliers to the docking stations on the assembly lines.

Automotive manufacturing in India

With the passage of time, India is slowly emerging as a global automotive manufacturing major and as its war horse, it is betting heavily on the compact car segment. Though the automotive manufacturing industry of India is still at its nascent stage, and many of the global players individually produce more vehicles than all the auto manufacturing companies of India taken together, it remains to be seen how far India goes with its manufacturing skills and huge manpower in the future. Today, two of the most important factors in automobile manufacturing industry are scale and volume. While high volume reduces unit cost drastically, it also gives the required impetus to productivity and improves the product quality to a great extent. Though India is putting in constant efforts to carve a niche for itself in the global automotive manufacturing industry, it lacks the quality, range and scale to achieve its targets. Presently, India ranks third after Japan and Brazil in terms of production capacity of compact cars. This is the only segment in the automobile industry where it has the potential to manufacture at par with global standards and capacities. Also, thanks to easy availability of cheap labor and raw materials, the prices of these cars could be significantly kept lower than their Japanese or Brazilian counterparts. This will IIPM 21 3/20/2012

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definitely result in increased sales over the coming years and provide the opportunity to tap a huge overseas market of first time buyers. To achieve this, we have to set up more world class facilities like the ones we are having in Gurgaon, Chennai and Pune and also have to improve our transport network for quick delivery. With direct plant-toship transport infrastructure this problem could be successfully overcome in the coming years. The fact that global companies are increasingly looking forward to India as a destination for cost effective and quality products is evident from Nissan's strategic partnership with Maruti to source its compact cars and do business in Europe. But before being recognized as an automobile hub the world over, India needs to prove its mettle on the testing grounds and zoom ahead in style.

Conclusion
During our trip to the manufacturing plant of Opel, we came to know about the complete manufacturing process of automobiles in the best possible way. Since the manufacturing unit in Rsselsheim is considered the best possible automobile manufacturing unit in the world, so we came to know the future of automobile engineering. We were also enlightened about the challenges in the automobile industry and the future of the same. The automotive industry is, as regards employment, turnover, or exports one of the most important sectors and it is also a stronghold of the European manufacturing sectors. The competive strength is based on socio-economic as well as on technological factors. Moreover, the automotive sector is in many respects a model for advanced manufacturing methods in Europe, be it as a forerunner in organizational and managerial innovation or as a test bed for new manufacturing technologies. The three major competitor challenges faced by the automobile industry worldwide are: 1. The re-structuring of the supply (and distribution) chains 2. The increasing electronification of the cars 3. The emergence of the new propulsion system and design concepts. Although these issues have to be addressed on different levels with a variety of measures the primary focus will be on two aspects: the strengthening of production modernisation as a self-contained capacity with companies (comparable to R&D) and the continuous development of the skills and competencies of the people. After this trip to the production plant of Opel, we continued our trip to visit the other important nusiness centers like the Deutche Stock Exchange and also enjoyed the beautiful city of Frankfurt. Overall, GOTA was a memorable, beautiful and learning experience altogether.

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