Opel boss Michael Lohscheller could not have chosen his departure time better.

It is well known that you should go when it is most beautiful.

At least for Opel standards, things are going really well right now.

The German subsidiary of the Stellantis Group has been operating profitably for a long time, it has a clear strategy for electromobility and wants to advance into markets that were inaccessible under the previous owner, the American car company General Motors, keyword: China. The French Opel buyer PSA Peugeot Citroën Lohscheller had dictated these goals into his workbook when he took office in 2017. It is his undeniable achievement to have fulfilled them - although that was only possible by radically downsizing Opel and its workforce in Germany.

At the same time, Lohscheller had no other chance than to slim down the then oversized automaker. Otherwise he would have quickly got rid of his post. Instead, Lohscheller is handing over a robust company with attack potential in September. And that's more than many would have thought it would.