1
NEWS
Alfa's (next) relaunch plan
Alfa Romeo is hoping seven all-new models by 2018 will be enough to make sales jump to half a million carsDetails of the latest rescue plan for iconic Italian marque Alfa Romeo are emerging. The plan, expected to be formalised by Fiat Group boss Sergio Marchionne in early May, calls for Alfa to launch seven new models by 2018.
The latest plan will outline desperate measures to arrest a sales decline that saw the once-proud Italian marque sell fewer than 100,000 cars worldwide last year.
Sources insist it will rely on a small and a large SUV, plus all-new passenger car overhauls to deliver a 500 per cent sales boost.
Alfa Romeo has just the Giulietta, MiTo and 4C on sale now, with question marks over the release of its Italicized version of the Mazda MX-5 architecture as the Alfa Spider in early 2016.
If not usurped by Fiat or Abarth, the Alfa Spider is aimed to lead image as much as profits, with a mid-sized Giulia sedan and wagon to follow it in 2017 and the Alfetta sedan and wagon arriving a year later.
Germany's Autobild magazine has reported that the Giulia will go hunting the BMW 3 Series, the Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz's all-new C-Class. But fans of the old Alfetta badge might be confused to know that the new Alfetta will be a larger model, targeted towards an E-segment field laced with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the Audi A6, the BMW 5-Series, the Jaguar XF and the Lexus GS ranges.
The smaller of the Alfa SUVs is due on sale in 2017, while the larger version will arrive a year later.
While the full product plan and recovery program isn't due to be officially released until May 6, it is known that the all-new rear and all-wheel drive architectures it needs are being developed by a select team of engineers holed up in a walled-off section of Maserati's Modena headquarters for the last two years.
The new rear-drive architecture, code-named Giorgio, will be built in Italy and means the brand will be completely free of its front-drive woes before the end of the decade.
Fiat has struggled to turn Alfa Romeo around since its acquisition of the 104-year-old brand in 1986 and the new plan, will be the fifth such all-new battle plan since Marchionne took the helm.
Share this article
Written byMichael Taylor
See all articlesOur team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Subscribe todayRelated articles
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Contact
Advertise with us
Local marketplaces
International marketplaces
Scan to download the carsales app
Want more info? Here’s our app landing page
App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo
are trademarks of Google LLC.