Opel Logo

Brand History

The Opel Story

Opel traces its origins to 1862, when Adam Opel began manufacturing sewing machines in Rüsselsheim; the company moved into bicycles and then built its first car in 1899. It became Germany's largest carmaker in the interwar period and was acquired by General Motors in 1929, serving for decades as GM's principal European brand with popular models such as the Kadett, Rekord, Astra and Corsa. In 2017 GM sold Opel to France's PSA Group, which later became part of Stellantis.

Logo History

Evolution Of The Opel Logo

1. 1862–1936

   Early emblems centered on lettering and monograms of the Opel name, evolving through several ornate badge designs as the company moved from sewing machines and bicycles into automobiles.

2. 1936–1963

   Opel used a circular badge containing a stylized dirigible-like form in flight, an emblem of speed and modernity; in the same era the lightning-bolt motif appeared on the Opel Blitz truck line, whose name means 'lightning' in German.

3. 1964–2023

   The horizontal lightning bolt inside a circle, adopted from the Blitz truck imagery, became the brand's definitive mark in the 1960s and was refined repeatedly in chrome and yellow-accented versions over the following decades.

4. 2023–present

   A flattened, sharper-edged 'Blitz' was introduced for the electric era, retaining the bolt-in-ring composition in a minimalist monochrome style.

Model Evolution

Opel Through The Years

7 milestone models from 1935 to 2012.

1935

1936

1953

1970

1982

1991

2012