New Corsa breaks cover

OFFERING: 55KW/118NM NORMALLY ASPIRATED 1.2-LITRE PETROL ENGINE Turbocharged version will allegedly be available in SA later.

The PSA Group, which merged with Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) to create Stellantis, has announced that its South Africa division, PCSA, had taken control from Williams Hunt as the distributors of Opel vehicles.

Joining French siblings Citroën and Peugeot, the takeover occurred on 1 january and will officially kick-off with the unveiling of the long awaited all-new Corsa.

“We are very excited to be distributing Opel vehicles. The brand has a large following locally, and the future product line up is very exciting, with four product launches or updates planned for this year,” Peugeot-Citroën South Africa Managing Director, Leslie Ramsoomar, said in a statement.

PCSA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Stellantis which distributes Peugeot and Citroen vehicles locally. Opel becomes the third Stellantis brand to be distributed by PCSA.

“It is a natural progression, as the three brands complement each other, each appealing to a specific customer profile,” added Ramsoomar. “In addition, it allows our multi-brand dealers to have a single point of contact with the OEM.”

He added that the transition would be undertaken with minimum disruption and that no changes are planned to existing Opel dealers or indeed the Opel network immediately.

Unveiled two years ago, the Corsa, which was first spotted locally in June and earmarked for introduction later in 2020 before being pushed back, will initially be offered solely with the 55kW/118Nm normally aspirated 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.

A turbocharged variant, likely to be the PureTech unit of the same size with 74kW/205Nm or 96kW/230Nm, will allegedly become available later. Not expected is 75kW/250Nm 1.5 BlueCDTI turbodiesel unit or the

100kW/260Nm

The brand has a large following locally

all-electric Corsa-e. Compared to the outgoing model, the new Corsa is 10% lighter, translating into a curb weight of 980kg for the base five-door model.

The new Corsa is 4.06m long, with a boot capacity of 309 litres, a 10% increase over its predecessor.

Although final specification remains unconfirmed, pricing has been revealed with the entry-level Edition retailing from R289 900 and the flagship Elegance from R350 000.

More complete details are expected in due course.