GM Europe boss says upscale Opel minicar will turn a profit

Opel Trixx concept

General Motors of Europe president Nick Reilly says Opel fully expects to turn a profit on its upcoming minicar. According to Reilly, the city car's up-scale features mean that the automaker will be able to charge a premium price for the vehicle and, in turn, should let Opel profit from the supermini.

Recently, Reilly told Automotive News that the urban runabout, codenamed Junior, will be aimed at "people who care about the status of their car, what it can do, what features it has, what telematics it has" and rather openly admits the Junior will be more expensive than Opel's other offering in the minicar segment, the Agila. Reilly says of the Junior, "It will have a more premium price for its segment," but claims that Opel, despite reports to the contrary, is not looking to have this vehicle compete with the Mini Cooper.

The Junior is expected to be unveiled at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. Production is tentatively slated for 2013.