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NEWS
US key for Alfa recovery
Fiat-Chrysler boss says Alfa Romeo must win in US battleground to growThe US marketplace is make or break for Alfa Romeo. That's the view from the top, the boss of Alfa's parent company Fiat-Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne.
Speaking to a packed press conference held in conjunction with the Geneva Motor Show, Mr Marchionne didn't mince words. His use of the F-word clearly showed his frustration with the effect Europe's economic woes continue to have on his brands and the automotive climate in general.
And while he predicted a rise in the automotive industry's fortunes in 2014 "once Europe f-ing gets its act together", he made it very clear, the planned resurgence of Alfa Romeo was absolutely dependent on success in the USA.
"We have a very good history in the United States. It has not been characterised by what I will call the highest standards of quality recollection but the car [brand] has a lot of emotional history," Mr Marchionne stated.
"The battleground for us [Alfa] is US based. We need to take on the German imports in that market as a European brand with equal if not superior values.
"The good thing is the planned [previous] renaissances never really got executed so we didn't embarrass ourselves by entering into the market and having to go back home with our tail between our legs," he said.
Mr Marchionne contends the change of two "fundamental factors" will deliver Alfa an opportunity. He described the brand as "uniquely revivable".
"Two things have fundamentally changed. One is the fact we now have a very solid alliance with Chrysler – a distribution network in NAFTA [North America] that we've never had right before. So the ability to promote the creation of a network which specialises in Alfa off the existing Chrysler infrastructure is something we now have
"But more importantly the sharing of architectures has made it economically viable for Alfa. We could have never ever done it economically in the absence of Chrysler – just impossible. The baseline investment that is required to launch these [new Alfa Romeo] vehicles would be far in excess of the economic returns associated [with returning Alfa to the USA]," he explained.
Ironically the car that will spearhead Alfa's return to the USA in the second half of 2013, the 4C (pictured), uses an engine and gearbox from the combined Fiat-Chrysler toolbox but little else. The next car after that to wear an Alfa badge stateside will be paired with the new MX-5 and built in Japan by Mazda!
Still Marchionne says the 4C ticks all the Alfa boxes.
"We factored in three fundamental things that I think are at the core of Alfa Romeo [with the 4C]: the first one is design; the second light weighting of vehicles; and the third thing, which I think is essential for Alfa, is an incredibly unique powertrain solution," Mr Marchionne stated.
"Do I think we have met the target with the 4C, the answer is absolutely yes. Do I think it's important to get to the next car and get there quickly, the answer is yes. Do I think we have to get to the US first before we come back to Europe, the answer is yes."
Indeed, Marchionne was honest with his appraisal of Alfa's chances for success in Europe.
"I don't know," he stated plainly.
"For anybody to [be confident to] create success in European market in the pricing conditions I've seen would question their sanity.
"This is not a great market to be in regardless of what part of the vehicle spectrum you're in. It's not just the mass market cars that are being degraded [in terms of profitability]" he stated.
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Written byMike Sinclair
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