The idea is simple. An owner of the Astra gets hefty discounts on the products and services marketed by a member company of the "Opel Club". The cost of the discount is borne by the member company which in turn gets access to a 15,000 club of Opel Astra owners.

The concept was launched almost simultaneously with the launch of the car with just six member companies. The number, which was at 34 last year, has now gone up to 57 and company officials expect it to rise further as new products are launched.

There is an innovative spirit behind selection of the member companies the idea being to select only those which would appeal to an Astra user. This has led to atie-up with the Hilton chain of hotels. Not all hotels are covered--only those which are frequently visited by their customers have been chosen for the hefty 70 per cent discount.

"The concept has worked. A number of our car owners are frequent travellers abroad. Hilton undoubtedly is a premium brand as well and hence the synergy," says GMIL national marketing manager Vinay Dixit.

For the outdoor owners, the company has tied-up with wildlife sanctuaries and resorts. Tie-ups have been forged with Maurya Sheraton and Holiday Inn for their resorts.

The youngsters have not been igonred as they, at the end of the day, influence decisions. Hence, tie-ups have been forged with premium discotheques in New Delhi and the company is on the look out for similar tie-ups in Mumbai.

In a dull market, which has seen sales growth fall by more than half, GMIL is heavily dependent on direct marketing initiatives and innovative schemes to boost sales. Total volumes of this segment of the market dropped from 50,000 unitsin 1997 to 42,000 units in 1998.

This affected all the brand of cars in this niche segment like Cielo, Ford Escort, Esteem and Honda City. For Opel Astra, volumes dropped from 10,000 units in 1997 to around 4,000 units in 1998.

In terms of sales value, Opel Astra has garnered a market share of 11 per cent in the premium segment as on December 31, 1998.

Last month saw its sales jump on the back of an "Opel Exchange" consumer scheme to replace an old Astra with a new model at a price which would have meant that the consumer got back 60 per cent of the cost incurred by him initially.

"We would be relying on several such schemes in the coming year. These would be structured depending on the market situation", says vice-president marketing Rajeev Chaba.

"We would be coming out with a special edition of 100 cars in the middle of the year called the Astra-100, in celebration of 100 years of the brand", he adds.