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Opel offers ‘lifetime’ guarantee on cars

Beleaguered German automaker Opel announced on Thursday it would offer a ‘lifetime guarantee’ on its cars in an attempt to attract new customers and boost its flagging market share.

Opel offers ‘lifetime’ guarantee on cars
Photo: DPA

“Expensive repairs are a thing of the past,” said Nick Reilly, head of General Motors’ European division, at Opel’s headquarters in Rüsselsheim near Frankfurt. “We hope this initiative will convince people to consider purchasing an Opel again.”

The guarantee will be good for all new cars sold from August 1 for up to 160,000 kilometres or until it changes owners – though if a car changes hands within six months of being driven off the sales lot, the second owner can extend the guarantee for a small fee.

It will cover all labour costs and, in the first 50,000 kilometres, all parts as well. Afterwards, the guarantee will pay for a sinking percentage of parts – except for regularly replaced items such as brakes and sparkplugs.

From January through July, Opel sold 131,364 vehicles – down 40 percent from the same period last year, when the so-called “cash for clunker” scheme encouraged many people to buy a new car. Limited predominately to Europe, GM’s Opel/Vauxhall unit has not been able to profit from surging demand for cars in China and North America, making its share of its home market that much more crucial.

While announcing the new guarantee, Reilly refused to confirm reports that a factory in Eisenach in the German state of Thuringia would build Opel’s new ultra-compact model named “Junior” on Thursday.

“We haven’t made a decision yet, but Eisenach is certainly a strong candidate,” he said.

The daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that the car – considered similar to Fiat’s diminutive 500 model – had been awarded to Eisenach, meaning it was unlikely 300 of the factory’s 1,600 jobs would now be cut as previously discussed.

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WORKING IN GERMANY

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Bavaria is no doubt a beautiful state with a strong economy, but can be a hard place for non-German speakers to integrate. The Local takes a look at job opportunities in Germany’s southeastern 'Free State.'

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions. 

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds. 

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local. 

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with. 

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