GM will auction off the equipment of the Opel factory in Bochum

After 52 years of operation, the Opel production plant in Bochum will stop building vehicles on 12 December. General Motors is thus seeking to ease the problem of excess production capacity it faces in Europe and to pave the way for Opel’s return to profitability. Just over a month before that happens, specifically on 4 November, the Canadian auction house Maynards will put the equipment of those facilities up for auction.

As Maynards managing director Andreas Matuszczak confirmed to Automotive News Europe, the lot will include fifty presses, some more than half a century old, and 80% of the robots in the body shop. The fire station, the canteen and the medical care room of the production plant can also be bought.

The inventory published by Maynards does not include the assembly lines, as they will be used in other Opel factories. Matuszczak said in the interview that they expect most interested buyers to come from Eastern Europe, India, Thailand and Turkey. The director declined to comment on the price set for these items.

The Bochum plant opened in 1962 and began operations by assembling the Kadett A. Until recently, the Zafira and the Zafira Tourer were built there, but production of the latter has already been moved to Rüsselsheim, while the oldest model will soon disappear from the range. The workforce numbered 3,280 employees.

Source | Automotive News