The Opel Astra is a small family car

Compact car

A compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...

 engineered and manufactured by the German automaker Opel

Opel

Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...

 since 1991.

It is branded as Vauxhall Astra

Vauxhall Astra

Astra is a model name which has been used by Vauxhall, the British subsidiary of General Motors , on their small family car ranges since 1979. Astras are technically essentially identical with similar vehicles offered by GM's German subsidiary Opel in most other European countries...

 in the United Kingdom, the Buick Excelle XT

Buick Excelle XT

The Buick Excelle XT is five-door hatchback assembled by Shanghai General Motors Company Limited . Originally launched in China as the Excelle and HRV, the Excelle is currently marketed as a hatchback called the Excelle XT, which is essentially a rebadged Opel Astra or as a sedan called the Buick...

 in China and the Chevrolet Astra/Vectra in Latin America. The Saturn Astra was also built for the American and Canadian market, but sales were discontinued in 2009 due to the discontinuation of GM's Saturn marque. The Holden Astra was also discontinued in Australia in 2009 due to exchange rates making the car uncompetitive, and was replaced by the Holden Cruze.