Opel Celebrates Anniversary Year with Multiple Awards for 2024, Including the New Opel Grandland
- New Grandland: Top-of-the-line SUV wins ‘Golden Steering Wheel 2024’1
- Astra and Astra Sports Tourer: Compact bestsellers celebrated across Europe
- Corsa Electric: ‘Best in Class’ award and ‘Electric Car of the Year’
- LCV innovations: Awards for Vivaro HYDROGEN and Movano HYDROGEN
Combined values for Opel Corsa Electric according to WLTP2: energy consumption 14.2-16.2 kWh/100 km, CO2 emissions 0 g/km; CO2 label: A.
Combined values for Opel Astra Electric according to WLTP2: energy consumption 15.5 kWh/100 km, CO2 emissions 0 g/km; CO2 label: A.
Combined values for Opel Astra Sports Tourer Electric according to WLTP2: energy consumption 15.8 kWh/100 km, CO2 emissions 0 g/km; CO2 label: A.
Rüsselsheim. 2024 was an extraordinary year for Opel in many respects: the brand celebrated ‘125 years of Opel automobile production’ while simultaneously becoming the first German manufacturer to offer at least one battery-electric variant for every model. In the past 12 months, all-new models such as the always electrified Opel Grandland SUV, which directly secured the renowned ‘Golden Steering Wheel 2024’1, celebrated their premiere. Germany’s most popular small car, the Corsa, and the compact class all-rounder Astra, among others, demonstrated how attractive Opel’s bestsellers are for customers and experts alike by winning numerous international awards. Additionally, the Vivaro HYDROGEN and the new Movano HYDROGEN light commercial vehicles impressed with innovative drive technologies. These are just a few highlights from the long list of awards won in 2024.
Elsewhere, the introduction of ChatGPT in many passenger cars and commercial vehicle vehicles also underlines how Opel makes top technologies accessible and affordable for everyone. This was recently recognised by the international AUTOBEST jury with the ‘SMARTBEST 2025’ award.
New Opel Grandland: “Golden Steering Wheel 2024”1 for the new SUV
“The new Opel Grandland is already bringing the automotive future onto the road,” promised Opel CEO Florian Huettl a few months ago. The jury from AUTO BILD and BILD am SONNTAG clearly agreed with this assessment. Stylish, dynamic, spacious and, above all, electrified in every version – the newcomer ‘made in Germany’ convinced the experts with its numerous virtues. The reward: The ‘Golden Steering Wheel 2024’1 as the ‘Best Car under €50,000’ and thus the 21st ‘Golden Steering Wheel’ for Opel. Customers will soon be able to experience the newcomer’s intelligent top technologies, comfort solutions and electrified drive portfolio themselves – in just a few days the new Grandland will arrive at dealerships across Germany.
Internationally celebrated bestsellers: Opel Corsa and Astra win prizes
The Opel Corsa has won customers’ hearts for many years. The small car bestseller from Opel is a perennial bestseller. According to the latest registration figures from the Federal Motor Transport Authority, it is Germany’s best-selling small car for the fourth year in a row. In addition, it has collected numerous awards in recent months, such as the recent ‘Best in Class’ Award 2025 from electricar for the Opel Corsa Electric as ‘Best Electric City Vehicle’ in Germany. In the UK, the small electric car received several awards: Auto Express named it ‘Electric Car of the Year’ and ‘Overall Car of the Year’ and Carbuyer bestowed it with the award for the ‘Best Used Small Electric Car’. Furthermore, the Corsa Electric won ‘EV of the Year 2024’ in the Netherlands. But it is not just the agile small car itself that is well received by customers and experts – the ‘Yes, of Corsa’ advertising campaign scooped a total of 10 awards in different categories from the German Art Directors Club.
Meanwhile, the Opel Astra, which is available as an attractive five-door as well as a flexible, sporty and elegant Astra Sports Tourer estate, is the ideal vehicle for family, leisure and work. These virtues once again helped the compact class bestseller go from success to success across Europe last year. In Hungary, the Astra Sports Tourer was named ‘Business Car of the Year 2024’ and the ‘Public’s Favourite Car of the Year 2024’. In Poland, the Astra was named ‘Best Compact Car 2024’, in the UK, it won ‘Best Medium Car 2024’ and ‘Best Family Car’. In addition, the battery-electric variants added further titles. Company Car & Van named the Astra Electric ‘Medium Electric Car of the Year 2024’ in the UK. In Finland, the Astra Sports Tourer Electric was voted ‘Best Electric Vehicle in Finland 2025’ by the Finnish Association of Electrical Engineering.
Commercial vehicle future: Vivaro and Movano recognised for innovative concepts
The brand’s commercial vehicles also demonstrated once again how they make mobile working life easier – especially with future-oriented drive solutions that reduce the CO2 footprint. An example is the Vivaro Electric. The battery-electric LCV all-rounder was named ‘Best Medium E-Van 2024’ at the British Business Vans Awards.
A special highlight among commercial vehicles is the innovative hydrogen fuel cell concept, which Opel is now using for the first time in the largest member of its LCV line-up, the Movano. With its combination of hydrogen fuel cell drive and rechargeable battery, the new Opel Movano HYDROGEN can cover more than 500 kilometres (WLTP) and can be refuelled with hydrogen in under 5 minutes. For the promising and sustainable solution, What Van? recognised the Movano HYDROGEN with the ‘Editor’s Choice Award 2025’. The Dutch Van of the Year Awards jury also acknowledged the future potential of the drive solution and bestowed the Vivaro HYDROGEN with the ‘2025 Promise of the Year’ award.
Selection of Opel and Vauxhall awards in 2024
| Astra and Astra Sports Tourer | Medium Electric Car of the Year 2024 | Company Car & Van, UK |
| Best Medium Car 2024 | Business Motoring Awards, UK | |
| Best Family Car | Business Car, UK | |
| Business Car of the Year 2024 | COTY jury, Hungary | |
| Public’s Favourite Car of the Year 2024 | Online-Vote, Hungary | |
| Best Compact Car 2024 | ‘Motor’ + AUTO.pl, Poland | |
| Best Electric Vehicle in Finland 2025 | Association of Electrical Engineering, Finland | |
| Corsa | Best in Class Award 2025 | electricar magazine, Germany |
| 10 Awards for ‘Yes, of Corsa’ campaign | Art Directors Club Germany | |
| Most Desirable City Vehicle | Golden Wheel Award, Macedonia | |
| EV of the Year 2024 | Association of Business Drivers, Netherlands | |
| Overall Car of the Year | Auto Express Used Car Awards 2024, UK | |
| Supermini of the Year | Auto Express Used Car Awards 2024, UK | |
| Electric Car of the Year | Auto Express Used Car Awards 2024, UK | |
| Used Small Car of the Year | Car Dealer Magazine, UK | |
| Best Value Car 2025 | Parkers Awards, UK | |
| Best Used Small Car 2025 & Best Used Small Electric Car 2025 | Carbuyer, UK | |
| Grandland | Golden Steering Wheel 2024 | AUTO BILD and BILD am SONNTAG, Germany |
| Movano HYDROGEN | Editor’s Choice Award | What Van?, UK |
| Vivaro HYDROGEN | 2025 Promise of the Year Award | Van of the Year, Netherlands |
| Vivaro /Vivaro Electric | Best Medium Van 2024 &Best Medium E-Van 2024 | Business Vans Awards, UK |
| Opel / Vauxhall | SMARTBEST 2025 for ChatGPT | AUTOBEST jury |
| Vauxhall | Best Manufacturer Website | Business Car, UK |
[1] AUTO BILD edition 46/2024 and BILD am SONNTAG edition 45/2024, category ‘Best car under €50,000’.
[2] A vehicle’s values not only depend on the vehicle’s efficient use of fuel, but are also influenced by driving behaviour and other non-technical factors.
Contact:
Colin Yong
+49 (0) 6142-6922084
colin.yong@opel-vauxhall.com
Carina Elsinger
+49 (0) 6142-6927811
carina.elsinger@opel-vauxhall.com