I’m assume Opel bought Vauxhaull back in the days, but why did they decide to keep the name? Why not just switch to Opel?
It can’t be an anti-German thingy, considering Brits drive Beemers, Mercs and Opels?
So why?
Vauxhall and Opel were both acquired by General Motors in the 1920s.
What? So long ago?
But why then run the same models under two different brands?
Opel never bought Vauxhall. These days, of course, they are just brands used by GM Europe, the cars being identical.
As for why the don’t drop the Vauxhall brand, I guess it just comes down to British buyers’ familiarity with the name. Personally I think “Opel” sounds cooler, and it has a much better logo too 
I sure do agree with that. My Opel Astra sounds a lot better than a Vauxhall Astra 
I’m no great car enthusiast, but the only GM model I can recall being branded as Opel in the UK was the Opel Manta, in the 70s - early 80s.
Must be that custom exhaust you have. 
Hell yeah, it’d da bomb 
And now back to regular programming.
It used to confuse the hell out of me when I was a kid. We have both Opels and Vauxhalls on our roads.
Are both sold in Ireland? Or are one or the other imported?
They’ll both be imported.
Rephrasing the question:
Would both be sold by dealers, or would one or the other be privately imported.
I think the Opels are sold in the Republic and Vauxhalls are/were from the Northern (UK) market. Plenty of Northern registered cars on Southern roads.
Then there’s the Holden Astra.
I read a few months ago that Vauxhall will be discontinued and they would all be branded Opel.
I don’t think we have a Vauxhall factory here any more anyway and they all come from Germany anyway.
The plant at Ellesmere Port appears to be hanging in there - although a quick scan of recent news items shows that the workers have been asked to apply for a nine-month sabbatical at 30% pay, so that doesn’t sound too healthy.
I thought they had all closed. (Vauxhall plants) Wrong again as usual .
Why does GM sell a Chevy Blazer as a GMC? Same company, same vehicle, different badging. People have peculiar ideas about brand loyalty, even if there’s really no difference, and automakers capitalize on that.
Plenty of Opels with Northern Ireland plates too, if you buy new cross border, you save on taxes of some sort AFAIK. Although I assume your Opels are simply rebadged Vauxhalls, given that we all drive on the left in the British Isles. Which makes me wonder, why would the Irish get Opels? Did GM think it would be better not to sell British in Ireland?
Even if they closed the Vauxhall plants, that wouldn’t necessarily mean that they drop the brand. For years now many Vauxhall-badged cars have been made outside the UK. GM seem to consider the brand valuable. I think it would take quite a marketing effort, over several years, to get your average British car buyer to accept an Opel Corsa as easily as a Vauxhall Corsa. Since there is no sign of such an effort, I doubt that they are considering switching to Opel in the UK.