Reborn Manta to arrive alongside new electric Opel/Vauxhall electric line-up.
Following Stellantis’ announcement that it will go all-electric in Europe by 2026, Opel/Vauxhall will ditch combustion completely in 2028 and has promised to offer an electrified version of every model by 2024.
The pledge comes in the wake of parent company Stellantis’s vow to launch 75 new pure-electric models globally by 2030.
As part of this push, the successors to the Opel Crossland crossover and Opel Insignia (previously sold here as the Holden Commodore) will be pure-electric, confirming that the brand will maintain an offering in these segments beyond the current cars’ lifecycles.
Whether or not they will retain the names of the current combustion models remains to be seen, however.
Also confirmed today is that Opel and Vauxhall will bring the reborn Manta – an electric SUV tipped to rival the Toyota bZ4X. The original Manta sports coupe from which it takes its name was badged exclusively as an Opel, but this development means the new car will wear the Vauxhall brand’s emblem in its home market of the UK. A spokesperson confirmed it will sit alongside the Insignia successor, rather than serving as the replacement for that model.
The Manta EV will arrive by 2025, and is set to be one of the first cars to use Stellantis’s new STLA EV architecture, which will be available in four sizes and rolled out across the 14-brand group’s entire global portfolio.
Opel said the Manta is “emissions-free, versatile and a car that will appeal to the heart and mind”. Other clues to its positioning are promises that it will be “astoundingly spacious” and a “new interpretation of a classic” which suggests it will draw some styling inspiration from its 1970s namesake.
Joining the Manta, Vauxhall Corsa-E, Mokka-E, Combo-E Life, Vivaro-E Life, Insignia successor and Crossland successor in Opel’s battery-electric passenger car line-up will be the new Opel Astra-E from 2023, which Vauxhall has now confirmed will be available in Sports Tourer wagon guise, as is the combustion car.
Felix Page