The story of German carmaker Opel is nothing short of remarkable. Why? Because unlike many other car companies, Opel started out as a sewing machine manufacturer. We’ll be telling you all that in a bit but first it's time to get the confetti and party balloons out as Opel is celebrating its 160th birthday this year.
The brand was started back in August 1862 by Adam Opel when he assembled his first ever sewing machine. That was the beginning of something very special as it soon became one of the largest sewing machine manufacturers in Germany and started exporting its sewing machines to Europe. The success didn’t stop there as later Opel became the world's largest bicycle manufacturer.
It wasn’t until 1899 that Opel set foot into the automotive industry. Soon, Opel achieved a landmark in the auto sector as well as it became the first German brand to introduce large-scale production using assembly line technology. Here’s some classic Opel trivia - the first car to roll off the assembly line in Germany in 1924 was the 4/12 PS “Laubfrosch”.
Since then, Opel went on to launch the first large-series station wagon from a German manufacturer - the Olympia Rekord Caravan. Opel has always kept safety in its mind as in 1995 it was the first German car manufacturer to introduce full-size airbags for driver and front passenger as standard on all new cars and in 2003 it started providing AFL (Adaptive Forward Lighting) in cars.
Opel celebrated the landmarking event by parking the Astra alongside its bicycle, sewing machine and Corsa 1.3i (the first European small car with a three-way catalytic converter).
