The story of reputed German car-makers, who started as producers of sewing machines in a cowshed Founded in Rüsselsheim, Hesse, Germany, Opel used to produce sewing machines in a cowshed.
Their success was based on the perfectly customised sewing machines produced by the founder, Adam Opel. Encouraged by this success, he began to sell high-wheel bicycles, also known as ‘penny-farthings’.
In order to promote the ‘motorisation of the people’ effectively, the company expanded its line of products in 1901 to include motorcycles. The first Opel trucks were being produced as early as in 1899.
The big breakthrough came in 1909 with the Opel 4/8 hp model, known as the ‘Doctor’s Car’. Its reliability and robustness were appreciated above all by physicians, who did a lot of cross-country driving back then when they made their calls, since hard-surfaced roads were still a rarity at the beginning of the century.
In the early 1920s, Opel became the first German car manufacturers to incorporate a mass production assembly line in the making of their automobiles. In 1924, they used their assembly line to produce a new, open two-seater, called the Laubfrosch.
Opel enjoyed a 37.5 per cent market share in Germany and were also the country’s largest automobile exporters in 1928. Then came the Regent, Opel’s first eight-cylinder car. The RAK 1 and RAK 2 rocket-propelled cars made sensational record-breaking runs.
Currently Opel are one of the most traditional car manufacturers in Germany and one of Europe’s largest auto makers. The company operates 11 vehicle, powertrain and component plants and three development centres in six countries and employs about 40,000 people. Many additional jobs are provided by some 6,600 independent sales and service outlets as a result of their business with the auto maker.
