Alfa Romeo to match Lexus for quality

Alfa Romeo's new boss has declared that it will match Lexus for quality from now on as part of radical plans to overhaul the Italian car-maker.
 
Revealing that the long-awaited all-new 2022 Alfa Romeo Tonale had been created under the "quality, quality, quality" mantra, Jean-Philippe Imparato said that under his leadership he would overturn the brand's reputation of iffy quality and patchy reliability and match the class leaders.
 
"I will share with you my target in terms of quality. I want to be at the height of Lexus. I am driven by quality," Imparato told carsales. 

When asked how Alfa would go toe-to-toe with Lexus, Imparato said its recently-revamped Giambattista Vico plant would play a role, but it won't just be money that will bring the gains.
 
"And it's not a question of money. It's not a question of investment. It's not a question of anything else [other than] rigour and discipline everywhere in the world," he said.
 
"And it is not only a question of product. It is as well a question of customer satisfaction. I don't want you to be satisfied. I want you to be delighted.”

 
The arrival of the ex-Peugeot CEO has already sent shockwaves through the famous Italian brand when he singlehandedly pressed pause for 12 weeks on the introduction of the already-delayed Tonale.
 
Imparato's concerns were reportedly over the upcoming plug-in hybrid version that didn't have enough of an all-electric range to be competitive.
 
The French-born CEO has also introduced stringent quality checks within the factory and says his bosses at Stellantis have not presuured him to hit any volume targets, with production set to range between 45,000 and 90,000, depending on demand.

 
Without volume targets, the car-maker will continue to improve resale values for its entire range.
 
As well as pricing all future vehicles on par with the likes of BMW, Imparato says the uplift in quality and more competitive products will see residual values improve to match the German brand within just five years.
 
Some of the novel features that will help bolster resales for future Alfa is the car-maker's bold plan to generate an NFT (non-fungible token) for each car it makes. The NFT will then live with the car all its life and be constantly updated, providing future owners with an accurate service history of the car that can't be corrupted thanks to its block-chain construction.

 
Internally, Imparato says he will continue to focus on maximising profit margins on each product but won't stray from the ethos of Alfa Romeo's heritage.
 
When asked if he was tempted to rebadge a high-margin RAM truck for US buyers, Imparato's response was unequivocal. 
 
"I love what RAM does and their pick-ups are great but we're a sporty brand, we must stay true to that, today and in the future," he said.