German carmaker continues to slash its EV prices in NZ

Monday, 14 August 2023

The Corsa-e is one of two electric Opels to cop a five-figure local price drop this month and next.

Following significant price cuts it made to its fully electric Mokka-e back in April, Opel has now confirmed a significant $10,000 price reduction for the Mokka’s smaller EV sibling, the Corsa-e.

In a release issued earlier today, Opel New Zealand announced that the Corsa-e SRi’s pricing is set to drop to $49,990 plus on-road costs. That becomes $42,975 plus ORCs once buyers take advantage of the Clean Car Discount rebate.

“We’re challenging our competitors and some of the new entrants on price - because we know we have the quality,” said Opel New Zealand commercial manager Noah Robertson.

The largest discount is reserved for the Mokka-e SRi, down $13,000.

“The Corsa-e is a classic example of this. It is one of the most successful model lines of all time – close to 15 million units sold across six generations globally - now available as a Golden-Steering-Wheel winning EV with a range of 383km for just $49,990+ORC.”

Although the brand’s press release only touched on the electric Corsa-e, Opel has in fact dealt big price reductions across the full electric and petrol Corsa and Mokka line-up.

The petrol-powered internal combustion engine Corsa SRi has had $5,000 shed from its sticker price, down to $31,990. The Corsa’s big sibling, the Astra SRi petrol, has had its price dropped by $4,000 to $45,990.

The Opel Manta is coming back as an all-electric performance coupe.

As for the aforementioned Mokka, the flagship Mokka-e SRi has been handed the biggest discount of all; its price tumbling from $69,990 to $56,990 – a $13,000 chop.

The ICE-based Mokka Edition has dropped $6,000 to $32,990, whilst its more upspec Mokka SRi petrol cousin has dropped $9,000 in price to $35,990.

The Astra SRi petrol and gSE plug-in hybrid have been discounted $4,000 and $7,000, respectively.

Even the Opel Grandland SUV, a model that’s only just been launched to the New Zealand market, cops a discount. The SRi petrol has been discounted $5,000 to $46,990 and the SRi PHEV discounted $8,000 to $69,990.

The Astra GSe plug-in hybrid, another model yet to be launched fully to the local market, rounds out the discounted models, falling $7,000 to $64,990.

The collection of price reductions are part of Opel’s Clean Car clear-out sale, which the brand states only applies to cars in stock between now and September 30, or while stocks last.

Whilst the news is exciting for those looking for a bargain, the scale of the discounts and the fact that several barely-launched models are included in the scheme could point to Opel’s potential struggle with penetrating the market since it returned to our shores last year.

Whilst numerous Opel-built and badged cars have been offered in New Zealand in recent times under different branding, like the final generation of Holden Commodore, the brand had not had an official presence in the region since its brief stint in Australia in 2012.

It relaunched in New Zealand in March of last year with the Mokka and Corsa as its first two products. The Grandland and Astra joined the line-up earlier this year.