Vauxhall Astra was created by the British automobile manufacturer, Vauxhall Motors or General Motors UK Limited, since the year 1979. This is classed as a small family car that was designed as a successor of the Vauxhall Viva and Vauxhall Chevette, which is a small family car and a supermini, respectively.

                The first generation Astra was produced in the years 1979 until 1984, and replaced the Vauxhall Viva in the United Kingdom market. This was available as a hatchback, estate, and a saloon, and it has been recognized as the Car of the Year in 1980 by the What Car? magazine. This was produced in Bochum, and its main competitor at that period was the Volkswagen Golf. The next generation covers the period 1984 until 1991, and is also known as the Mark 2 Astra. This version was launched in October 1984 and was available as a hatchback, estate, cabriolet, and saloon. The second generation Astra has been known as the European Car of the Year in 1985.

                In 1991, the third generation Astra or Mark 3 was launched. Aside from the United Kingdom, this was also manufactured in Australasia, and it has several available trim levels and special edition badging. The Mark 4 Astra came in the year 1998, which received a four star rating from the European New Car Assessment Programme. In 2004, the fifth generation Astra was presented as a five door hatchback, and several variants of the car were also made available.

                The current version of the Vauxhall Astra is the Vauxhall Astra I/J, which was assembled in Ellesmere Port. This was displayed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2009, and the Sports Tourer, its Estate version, was shown at the Paris Motor Show in 2010. Reports were released that the next generation can be expected by the year 2015.