1.5 Millionth Car Rolls Off the Production Line at Opel's Gliwice Plant in Poland

GLIWICE, Poland - General Motors Manufacturing Poland (GMMP) celebrated the 1,5 millionth vehicle built at its Gliwice manufacturing plant this week. The jubilee car, an Astra 5-door hatchback, is painted in “Power Red” and powered with a 1.3 turbo diesel engine. The car will be delivered to a customer in Austria.

The Gliwice factory currently manufactures the Astra H (Classic) sedan and the 5-door version of the Astra J. The new 3-door Astra J GTC will enter production at the site this autumn, followed by the Astra J sedan in Spring 2012, while a convertible based also on GM’s global delta FWD platform will be added in 2013.

“The advanced quality assurance system and our experience in efficient model launches are key to continuous growth. As a consequence of the increase of Astra production, we expanded working hours to the night shift, hiring more than 500 new employees in May 2010. 150 more will be hired in 2011,” said plant director Andrzej Korpak.

The Gliwice plant started production in 1998 and is currently operating in a three-shift rotation pattern, employing about 3 thousand workers. In 2010 more than 158,700 vehicles rolled off the assembly line.