7:15 am, August 3, 2026
Vauxhall is focusing on remaining a ‘great mainstream value brand’ as the car market goes through the ‘biggest period of disruption in the last 120 years’.
That’s according to Michael Auliar, Vauxhall’s commercial director, who spoke exclusively to Car Dealer this week at the launch of the brand’s facelifted Astra model.
Auliar, who spent 27 years at Nissan UK in a variety of roles, only joined Vauxhall in December last year but is already focusing on ‘leaning back into our heritage’.
‘We build cars for everyone’, he said. ‘The worst thing is when [consumers] don’t feel anything about your brand’ and added that Vauxhall was ‘remembering what we are and that is a great mainstream brand’.
With the new influx of Chinese brands often occupying the more value-focused end of the market, Auliar said ‘I don’t always want to be the cheapest.’
‘As a mainstream brand, we have to be competitive. It’s about making things simple for consumers – simplicity I think is really, really important.’
Auliar also chatted about the backing that Vauxhall has from the wider Stellantis group and added that ‘I can’t see in this competitive market how a standalone brand can survive. Everyone is looking at how to achieve economies of scale – it’s a new normal with the Chinese’.
Vauxhall currently offers a multi-energy approach with its cars, bringing petrol, hybrid and electric versions of nearly every model it has on sale. Auliar added that there’s ‘not a one size fits all solution’ to what setup works for a particular driver.
‘Sometimes you have to be honest and say, ‘do you know what? It actually doesn’t work’. I could sell you an EV, but you’ll be back in two months’ time. It still isn’t a perfect solution for everyone and we shouldn’t be afraid to say that’.