Opel New Vehicle Development Process with Women's Perspective Panels
Opel has taken an innovative approach to the automotive industry, women's perspective decided to include them. By benefiting from the experiences of female employees through the 'Women's Perspective Panels' (WPP), it receives important feedback on critical issues such as vehicle ergonomics, driving experience and storage areas. This process aims to meet the needs of all drivers, not just women.
Tools Developed with the Active Participation of Women
Opel organizes various workshops to ensure that women actively participate in vehicle development processes. In these workshops, female employees contribute to making new vehicles more user-friendly by taking part in processes such as benchmarking and target group analyses, test drives and design evaluations. In this way, vehicles that directly respond to user needs emerge.
Women's Perspective with the New Opel Grandland
Opel's latest SUV model Grandlands, was one of the first projects where KPP was influential. Female employees had the opportunity to test different competitor models, providing valuable information about their strengths and weaknesses. During the development of the new Grandland model, significant improvements were made in terms of aesthetics and functionality, based on women's feedback.
Test Drives and Feedback Process
KPP members had the opportunity to drive prototypes and share their experiences at every stage of the development process. This feedback helped identify elements that directly impact the vehicle’s performance and driving experience. Key Performance Indicator A report called (KPI) was prepared at the end of this process. This report contributes to the determination of more effective strategies in future projects.
Nina Thiele's Views
President of Women at Stellantis Germany Nina Thiele, Emphasizing the importance of the Women’s Perspective Panels, he stated that this application guides new Opel models based on women’s personal experiences. Thiele stated that women’s participation is beneficial not only for women but for all drivers. The findings obtained in the new Grandland include many elements that increase driving comfort.
Features of the New Grandland
- Ergonomic Seat Design: A comfortable feeling of space is provided in all seats.
- Steering Position: It allows the driver to sit in a comfortable position.
- High Quality Interior: It has an eye-catching and functional interior design.
- Advanced Ventilation System: Comfort is increased with optional seat heating and effective rear ventilation.
Carrying Results to the Future
With the Women’s Perspective Panels, Opel is in a continuous development process to better respond to user needs in its vehicles. This not only ensures the development of new generation vehicles, but also strengthens the place of women in the automotive sector. The role of women in this process is considered a major step towards advancing gender equality in the sector.
Opel’s innovative approach sets an exemplary model for other brands in the sector. Incorporating women’s experiences and perspectives into vehicle development processes has the potential to significantly transform the automotive industry.
