When automakers added up their sales numbers for 2014, the figures from Alfa Romeo amounted to little more than a rounding error. Returning to the U.S. market mid-year after a two-decade absence, Alfa managed to deliver just 57 vehicles in December.
“It’s a very low volume, and I don’t think anyone’s made any pretenses otherwise,” acknowledged Richard Cox, the brand’s North American director. That said, Cox insists that even those small numbers are a sign that Alfa is on the right path.
It certainly has big plans. It introduced the new 4C sports car at the New York Auto Show last April. A convertible version, the 4C Spider, debuted last week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. And, Cox revealed during an interview with TheDetroitBureau.com, yet another all-new model will debut “by the fourth quarter” of 2015.
Exactly what product that will be, Cox and other Alfa executives won’t say. But expect to see as many as eight new models in the brand’s global showrooms by decade’s end, the result of a 5 billion Euro, or $7 billion, investment program announced last May during a day-long media briefing by parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).
When Alfa first began planning its U.S. comeback it started looking at fairly traditional models like the Guilia. But it quickly became apparent that wouldn’t make much noise in the crowded American market. Instead, said global Alfa CEO Harald Wester, the company set up a skunk works program given the rather demanding demand to “innovate and be revolutionary.”
The first result was the 4C, a pint-sized, carbon-fiber sports car that has generated plenty of buzz, if not many sales. In fact, Alfa couldn’t move many more if it wanted to, stressed Cox. Largely hand-built, production capacity is expected to max out at 4,000 annually once the 4C Spider comes onboard. The company has struggled to have just 15 in inventory at any time, and the typical 4C coupe lasts in dealer stock just four days.
That’s small comfort for the 80 dealers who have so far signed up to handle Alfa – with 100 franchisees expected to be in operation this year, according to Cox. It will be critical to not just launch the 4C Spider, but to roll out higher-volume models that can actually justify their investments in the brand. The good news is that the majority of those Alfa dealers already handle either the Fiat or Maserati brands – or both.
(Midsize sedan likely next U.S. model for Alfa Romeo. For more, Click Here.)
While Fiat is still struggling after its own U.S. revival, Maserati is showing strong momentum, largely the result of a flood of new products. And Reid Bigland, the CEO of Alfa Romeo’s North American operations, is confident his brand will follow a similar pattern.
“The time is now, and I believe there are a lot of consumers looking for alternatives to BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz,” Bigland said during an appearance at the Detroit Auto Show. “There’s a market for advanced technology and beautiful Italian style, and I am confident we will get a good chunk of that market.”
Alfa’ future product portfolio will be narrower than competing German brands. Don’t expect an entry-level model along the lines of a Mercedes-Benz CLA sedan, Bigland said, noting that Alfa does not have “to stretch it to be all things to all people.”
(Click Here for details about Bigland taking charge of Alfa Romeo.)
That doesn’t mean the Italian brand will ignore current market trends. One of the vehicles under development – codenamed Project 949 – is believed to be a compact crossover along the lines of the Kamal concept Alfa rolled out a dozen years ago.
The entire line-up will stretch from compact sports cars to full-size utility vehicles, according to Wester. They will be delivered in rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive configurations, and will be powered by all new four- and six-cylinder diesel and gas engines likely to deliver as much as 600 horsepower.
The next model will be here before the end of 2015, with the rest to follow by 2018.
(To see how the Renegade is going to lead Jeep’s global expansion, Click Here.)
One long-expected model has been dropped from the product portfolio. Last week, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed that Alfa will not share a sports car jointly developed with Mazda – which is marketing its version as the next-generation MX-5 Miata. It would be “wrong” to sell it as an Alfa, Marchionne said. It will now be sold through the Fiat franchise.
Even without that model, Alfa expects to boost its global sales from a meager 74,000 last year to 400,000 by 2018. It’s an ambitious goal, especially considering the slow ramp-up of the 4C and considering the money parent FCA is investing, Alfa will need to deliver.
