Uwe Hochgeschurtz has only been heading the car manufacturer Opel since the beginning of September. Nevertheless, he has already come through eventful days. He was able to present the new Astra on his first day at work. A particularly important model: the compact car, like the small Corsa, represents a quarter of sales by the only German subsidiary of the Stellantis Group. But then he got into trouble at the headquarters in Rüsselsheim. Because contrary to previous statements, Opel wants to close the tool shop on site. And enough people have not yet been found for the production plant in southern Hesse - a few weeks before the start of Astra production. In between, the semiconductor crisis quickly caught up with the new boss. Stellantis also lacks chips, which can be found in many places in vehicles.For this reason, Opel is suspending production in Eisenach until at least the end of the year. In this respect, Hochgeschurtz draws attention with a current promise.

Thorsten Winter

Business editor and internet coordinator in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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"Customers who order an Opel Corsa-e or a Mokka-e in Germany get their dream vehicle delivered within twelve weeks - despite the current global semiconductor crisis," he says.

But how can that be when delivery times of six months and longer are normal in the automotive industry?

After all, Opel recorded almost 28 percent fewer new registrations in October than a year ago.

A consequence of the chip crisis.

Soothing words for Eisenach

Do the two small models need fewer chips than other vehicles? Or do you need special variants? Did Opel suddenly open up a new semiconductor source? The latter is not the case, as a spokesman says. Rather, Opel is directing its chips into the production of e-cars. The models that are particularly in demand come into play here. The brand with the lightning bolt cannot complain about a lack of orders, even with combustion engines, including diesel. But electric vehicles enjoy right of way, as they say.

The models that most buyers find are preferred. Customers who prefer a larger model or who need a commercial vehicle can also look forward to short delivery times. But they are longer than with Corsa-e and Mokka-e: Orders for Zafira-e Life, Combo-e Cargo, Vivaro-e Kombi and Movano-e will be processed by Opel "in the first quarter of the new year", promises Hochgeschurtz. That would be a delivery time of up to five months.

Meanwhile, the dispute over toolmaking continues to smolder.

This work, performed by around 260 employees, is due to expire at the main plant in Rüsselsheim at the end of the year.

The works council is angry about this because the management had promised to continue with 160 employees.

At least Hochgeschurtz was able to smooth things over in Eisenach.

There the fear of a creeping end to the work had become loud.

The Opel boss assures, however, that this will not come: "We will keep all the plants," he told the FAZ