January 21, 1899: Opel Began Producing Automobiles 125 Years Ago

• Start of an era: 1899 contract-signing made Opel an automobile manufacturer
• Current bestsellers “made in Rüsselsheim”: Opel Astra and Astra Sports Tourer
• Anniversary under banner of electromobility: Battery-electric variant of every Opel carline in 2024

Rüsselsheim.  2024 is a special year for Opel, under the banner of electromobility. For the first time in the brand’s history, every model will have a battery-electric variant – above all the new Opel Astra Sports Tourer Electric, one of the first battery-electric estate cars on the market. However, the company laid the foundation for affordable, innovative and future-proof mobility on four wheels 125 years ago. On January 21, 1899, Wilhelm Opel, son of the company founder Adam Opel, signed a contract with the locksmith Friedrich Lutzmann to buy his Motorwagenfabrik (motor car factory), the starting signal for automobile production at Opel. This marked the start of a new era that would write history far beyond Rüsselsheim. A previously successful sewing machine and bicycle manufacturer, Opel thus ventured into territory unknown to the company exactly 125 years ago.