It’s a simple question but one with complex answers. Ultimately it was the perfect fit on the world stage, on in which its high-performance GSE brand can be expanded and its suite of all-electric cars such as the
So far, so straightforward. Except, Opel is part of one of the world’s largest brand behemoths – Stellantis. This is the complicated part. Stellantis’ overall global strategy is to Stellantis’ overall strategy is centered around its FaSTLAne2030 five-year blueprint launched in May 2026 under CEO Antonio Filosa to drive sustainable, profitable growth through disciplined capital allocation and simplified operations.
That may sound quite esoteric in a way but Opel is playing a part in that with its markets and its planned expansions in to newer markets.
Germany is Opel’s largest single market, followed closely by the United Kingdom (where vehicles are sold under the Vauxhall brand) and strong international markets like Turkey are also very important. But a more global feel via Formula E was a key attraction too for the brand.
Sales are strong for Opel and Vauxhall, which recorded around 313,000 total global vehicle sales during H1 2026, with overall passenger car business up over 7 percent year-over-year.
They are a brand seemingly on the up. So, having a vibrant, alluring and progressive marketing campaign via the world’s only all-electric world championship, and especially one entering a bright new era with Gen4, made all kinds of sense. Put it this way, it made so much more sense than Maserati’s entry in 2023.
“Formula E championship is basically a perfect fit for the Opel brand,” Joerg Schrot told a selection of media, including Formula E Notebook, at the London EPrix last month.
“It’s fitting very good to our company strategy towards the transition in the automotive industry for electrification. It is also perfectly fit for us to demonstrate and showcase our new sporty sub brand GSE, and to me it’s also the perfect moment in time.”
Gen4 is a genuine attraction for Opel, who will have been briefed at a very early stage by Stellantis Motorsport heads in late 2024, way before it came to the paddock for the first time at Monaco in May, 2025.
“Opel will be there when the real action starts with the Gen 4 cars because I really believe in these cars,” added Schrott.
“Yesterday, we have seen the VIP area of Jaguar here, and there is a dedicated room where the new Gen 4 car is standing there, and this gave me goosebumps to be very honest, because this car is so bold, so different to that what we are seeing today.
“I’m really looking forward to the new generation of race cars, we are ambitious, but we have a lot of respect. We are fully aware that Formula E is a highly competitive championship, and we know that there are a lot of strong competitors in it.”
Opel’s aims
Aims and objectives can be throw away lines in motorsport. ‘We are here to win’; ‘We want to be humble;’ We want to compete’.
They don’t really mean anything. Vapour.
The difference with Opel, especially via the experienced and grounded Schrott, is that there has been some thought that has gone in to answering the question.
“The goal is to form a strong team which is learning quickly, and then also getting competitive as soon as possible and to get the respect in the paddock. This is one of our objectives,” said Schrott.
“If it comes to the clear goal, I put it always this way. You know, even in the first season, we would like to be visible, and you are not visible if you are running just in the 10th place. This is always the sentence I’m saying.”
He will be saying it a lot more as the Gen4 era ramps up. Opel is coming, you’ll see it clearly and with Evans and Pourchaire, allied to Stellantis intimate knowledge of the Gen4, it will be well positioned to spring more than a few surprises from the get-go.”
