German carmaker Opel plans to celebrate the 125th anniversary of its plant at Rüsselsheim in western Germany on Saturday.

The occasion is to be celebrated with an open day, with some high-profile guests in attendance, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Visitors will be able to gain an impression of how the manufacturer is helping to shape the transition to electromobility, the company said.

In 1899, the then sewing machine and bicycle manufacturer built its first car, the Patentmotorwagen System Lutzmann. Opel had previously taken over the works of pioneer Friedrich Lutzmann and relocated it from Dessau to Rüsselsheim.

After almost 90 years as part of the US group General Motors, Opel was taken over by the Peugeot parent company PSA in 2017, which has since merged with Fiat-Chrysler to form Stellantis.

The only German brand in the US-European group returned to profitability several years ago after thousands of job cuts and a downsizing programme for its sites elsewhere in Germany.