TURIN -- Alfa Romeo will take two years more than planned to complete its business plan and has dropped previously announced volume targets.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' revised plan for its sporty brand reconfirmed on Wednesday that Alfa will launch eight new models but extends the time frame from 2018 to 2020.
FCA's previous plan called for 400,000 global sales of Alfa expanded lineup by 2018. The new plan has no volume indications either for Alfa or for Fiat Chrysler as a whole.
In a presentation on the company website, FCA said that its commitment to Alfa's overall brand and product strategy "remains in place."
The revised Alfa plan will focus mainly on Europe and the U.S. market and will reduce expectations for China where the premium car market is slowing down.
FCA previously forecast annual Alfa sales in North America and Europe of 150,000 units in each region by 2018. In China, where Alfa cars are not yet sold was forecasts for 80,000 annual sales.
Alfa has delayed the launch of its key Giulia midsize sedan due to technical problems. The high-performance Giulia Quadrifoglio was due to launch in Europe by the end of 2015 as the first model in the Giulia's lineup. The launch has been delayed six months and the car is expected to reach European showrooms in early June.
The entry level Guilia is scheduled to debut at the Geneva auto show in March but it is not yet clear when it will arrive in dealerships.
Marchionne said today that Giulia production will begin during this quarter.
Alfa's first crossover, which will be based on the Giulia, will launch in Europe by late 2016 or early 2017, according to FCA's latest business plan.
U.S. launches for the Giulia and Giulia-based crossover will follow the European debuts by three to six months.
Other new Alfas -- a full-size sedan, two CUV or SUVs, two “specialty vehicles” and a hatchback -- will not appear until between 2017 and 2020, according to the updated business plan.
In May 2014, Marchionne announced a 5 billion euros investment in Alfa Romeo to reverse a decade of losses and seven years of collapsing sales at the brand.
Alfa's 2015 global sales are expected to be 65,000.
