Adam Opel established his namesake firm in Rüsselsheim, Germany, simply 30 miles southwest of Frankfurt. Founded in 1862 to make stitching machines, Opel branched into bicycle manufacturing in 1886 after securing a bit of the German market.

In 1899, Opel’s son, Wilhelm, purchased Friedrich Lutzmann’s Motorwagenfabrik (motor automotive manufacturing unit) and began constructing automobiles underneath the Opel identify. By 1907, Opel was making stitching machines and automobiles alongside one another in its manufacturing unit. However, a hearth burned down the manufacturing unit in 1911, inflicting the corporate to cease operations. When it resumed manufacturing, Opel determined to cease making stitching machines and targeted all its efforts on vehicles.

By 1928, Opel was the biggest German automaker, with 37.5% of the native market share, in response to Detroit Free Press. However, the Great Depression in 1929 hit Opel onerous, and General Motors ended up buying 80% of the corporate for underneath $26 million (about $472 million in the present day). By 1931, GM purchased Opel’s remaining 20% of its shares, making it a fully-owned GM subsidiary.

However, regardless of being a fantastic success for GM within the Nineties, GM Europe, which had Opel underneath its belt, was shedding about $1 billion yearly within the 2010s. So, after practically 90 years underneath its care, GM sold Opel (and Vauxhall) to Groupe PSA in 2017. With the latter’s merger with FCA, Opel is now underneath the Stellantis umbrella, placing it alongside different iconic manufacturers resembling Alfa Romeo, Jeep, and Maserati.