New Opel Astra flop for 2010?

After taking a dig at the Audi A1 and its supposedly disappointing sales results so far, German magazine Automobilwoche is also citing the new Opel Astra as a flop for 2010.
The take on the Astra comes with comparison of the Volkswagen Golf, which has vastly outstripped the former in sales for this year.

On the local German market, Astra sold 65,472 units in the last year against the 234,135 Golfs that were sold.

From November 2009 to November 2010, those Astra sales represent just 28 percent of the Golf sales.
Opel sales chief for Germany Alain Visser has admitted that the Astra sales are (unsurprisingly for us) inferior to those of the Golf, but says that the company will be focusing on its new Astra Sports Tourer station wagon in the new year.
The Sports Tourer apparently represents 50 percent of overall Astra sales and this compact wagon is more than a significant competitor for the Golf Variant.

The Opel Astra fares better against the Volkswagen Golf on some other European markets, while across Europe over the last year the Astra has sold 254,773 units to the Golf’s 533,009.

That makes for a percentage of about 48 percent, which is far healthier than on the local German market.
It still puts the Astra behind the Golf but the latter has always reigned as Europe’s favourite hatchback so the figures are not exactly ground breaking.
What will be interesting to see is how the Sports Tourer goes in the future.