Vauxhall Motors

Vauxhall Motors Limited (pronounced /ˈvɒksɔːl/) is a British car manufacturer, owned by General Motors. Most current Vauxhall models are right-hand drive derivatives of GM's German Opel marque; however, production of left-hand drive vehicles also takes place for export to other parts of Europe, and certain marginal markets. There are also several performance vehicles coming from Opel Performance Center (OPC) and Holden/Holden Special Vehicles in Australia. Vauxhall is headquartered in the Griffin House in Luton, United Kingdom.[3]

In early 2009, the future of Opel was thrown into uncertainty as the global financial crisis drove GM towards bankruptcy. New GM Europe (Vauxhall plus Opel, minus Saab),[4] is presently controlled by a trustee, with a controlling board made up of representatives from GM, employees and the German Government; the company was subject to a bidding process.

On 10 September 2009, it was announced that Magna, a Canadian car part manufacturer, and Sberbank, a Russian company, would buy a majority stake (55%) in its European Opel/Vauxhall operations. GM would have owned 35% of Opel; while Opel employees would have owned 10%. The agreement would have kept Opel/Vauxhall a fully integrated part of GM’s global product development organisation, allowing all parties to benefit from the exchange of technology and engineering resources.[5] On 3 November 2009, the GM board called off the Magna deal, after coming to the conclusion that Opel and Vauxhall Motors are crucial to GM's global strategy.

Alexander Wilson founded the company in the Dusian Road, Vauxhall, London in 1857. Originally named Alex Wilson and Company, then Vauxhall Iron Works, the company built pumps and marine engines. In 1903, the company built its first car, a five-horsepower model steered using a tiller, with two forward gears and no reverse gear. This led to a better design which was made available for sale.