GENEVA -- Fiat doesn't necessarily need to build the roadster announced with Mazda early last year with an Alfa Romeo badge, Fiat Chrysler Automobile CEO Sergio Marchionne said on Tuesday.
"The brand that we use will be chosen in due time. I don't believe there was an irrevocable obligation to use an Alfa architecture," he said at a press conference at the Geneva auto show. "Maybe we will, maybe we won't. The important thing is that industrially the project is moving forward."
The Alfa roadster, announced in January 2013, was supposed to be built at Mazda's plant in Hiroshima, Japan.
Fiat or its Abarth performance subbrand are likely to get a roadster from Mazda instead of Alfa Romeo, sources say, Automotive News Europe reported on March 3.
Marchionne said that Fiat "is in discussions now" with Mazda on the project.
"We remain committed to using that architecture with our power trains," he said.
The re-born Alfa Romeo brand needed to reflect its Italian roots, Marchionne said on Tuesday at a press conference.
