Alfa Romeo Expansion Delayed
The rollout of Alfa Romeo models into North America has hit a new speed bump.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has realigned its plans for Alfa Romeo that will see the addition of a full-size sedan, three crossovers, two “specialty” vehicles and a hatchback arriving past 2020.
With gas prices dropping and truck and SUV sales urging, FCA has made some alterations to its plans. We’ve already looked at some of those changes, with Chrysler killing off the 200 sedan and Dodge axing the Dart. While none of Alfa Romeo’s existing models – there’s only two – will be killed off, its future lineup is changing.
The Giulia sedan made its debut at the 2015 L.A. Auto Show last year, which is still slated to launch later this year. The four-door will be followed by a midsize crossover possibly in early 2017. From there, all the previously mentioned models were supposed to launch between 2014 and 2018, but considering we’re nearly halfway into the five-year plan and we’ve only seen two, Alfa Romeo is clearly behind schedule.
SEE ALSO: Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Arrives in US Bearing 505 HP
The previous plan had another sedan and two compact models in the works, but FCA has decided against bringing those to market. The two compacts will be replaced by the single hatchback model. Although new models are being planned, FCA is cutting Alfa Romeo’s R&D, manufacturing and product-developing funding through 2018, attributing it to “uncertainties” in the Chinese market.
It is more than likely that Alfa Romeo’s fate in the U.S. will depend largely on how well the Giulia performs on the market. With the Quadrifoglio model boasting a twin-turbo V6 engine from Ferrari with 505 horsepower, we can’t wait to see if it drives as good as it looks.
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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But not surprising, since Sergio doesn't seem mind clearing product is selling decently or update those that need it to restart the Alfa brand that Americans will barely notice. Instead of just moving Chrysler into the same slot as Buick and leaving Dodge as the mainstream, his plans always seem to kill models from the American side of the merger instead of removing the failing Fiat brand or cancel plans on bringing Alfa over until the market is ready or they have enough capital to withstand losing money. There's nothing wrong with the Dart except it uses the 6AT and the older version of the Tigershark without start/stop tech. Killing it leaves them vulnerable again, building the 100 on the SUSW platform, equipping it with more fuel efficient engines, and the 9AT could only help when gas prices go back up. They saw the mistakes in the 200's design which could be corrected in the MMC and left out of the 100 design altogether. Its not that they can't make a product that is truly competitive they aren't being allowed to. I have a feeling Sergio wants Chrysler to fail, so that if Alfa and Fiat don't survive it will look as if they just couldn't make money with the brand.
There is a very good chance that Chrysler will go belly up in the next recession. Sergio sees that and that is why he has been trying to get a merger with GM.