Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

 company founded by Adam Opel

Adam Opel

Adam Opel was the founder of the German automobile company Adam Opel AG.- Biography :Adam Opel was born on May 9, 1837, to Wilhelm, a locksmith, and his wife in Rüsselsheim. Adam studied with his father until the age of 20, when he received his travel pass...

 in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft

Aktiengesellschaft

Aktiengesellschaft is a German term that refers to a corporation that is limited by shares, i.e. owned by shareholders, and may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland...

 in 1929. The company is headquartered in Rüsselsheim

Rüsselsheim

Rüsselsheim is the largest town in the Groß-Gerau district in the Rhein-Main region of Germany. It is one of seven special status towns in Hesse and is located on the Main, only a few kilometres from its mouth in Mainz. The suburbs of Bauschheim and Königstädten are included in Rüsselsheim...

, Germany.

It became a majority-stake subsidiary of the American General Motors Corporation

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 in 1929 and has been a wholly owned subsidiary since 1931.

In 2010 Opel announced that it will invest around 11 billion Euros in the next five years.