Founded in 1898 Opel cars first begun car manufacturing by building Lutzmann cars, followed later by Darracq designs. By 1906 Opel had begun to concentrate on building its own Opel designs of cars and trucks. By the late 1920's Opel had become the largest car firm in Germany and was acquired by US car giant, General Motors.

Following the end of WW2 Opel started to concentrate on building its own European designs, breaking away from building the cumbersome US inspired models that it produced in the 1930s. As Opel moved into the 1970's it began to grow ever closer to its other European GM owned sister company, Vauxhall. By the 1980's Opel was really the driving force for GM in Europe and continues to design and produce cars that are sold under the Opel and Vauxhall banners (Vauxhall is only marketed in the UK).