Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
    • Latest news
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • New Product
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Sales By Market
    • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
    • Munich Auto Show
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
  • Features
    • Long Read
    • Interview of the Month
    • Focus on Electrification
    • Focus on Technology
    • Segment Analysis
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Europe By The Numbers
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Commentary
    • Guest columnists
  • Photos
    • Photo Galleries
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Podcasts
  • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS
    • ANE Congress
    • ANE Rising Stars
    • ANE Eurostars
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
    • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
    • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
    • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
    • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
    • Toyota Europe
    • UFI Filters
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Automotive News Europe
November 04, 2015 12:00 AM

Alfa Romeo will delay sedan, SUV launches, sources say

Luca Ciferri
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Share
    Share
    Share
    Share
    Share
    Share
    Share
    Share
    Share
    Share
    Share
    Share
    Share
    Share
    Share

    TURIN -- Alfa Romeo will delay the sales launches of two key new models, according to sources, in a further setback for the struggling Fiat Chrysler Automobiles brand.

    The Giulia Quadrifoglio midsize sedan will go on sale in Europe six months later than planned in the middle of next year, two supplier sources told Automotive News Europe. Alfa’s first SUV, based on the Giulia, will not come to market before early 2017, nine months later than planned, the same sources said.

    The high-performance Giulia Quadrifoglio was due to launch in Europe by the end of this year as the first model in the Giulia lineup, Alfa’s European dealers were told during the car’s presentation in June. The car's market launch is now delayed because Alfa is working to refine some safety and ride characteristics, the sources said.

    Alfa Romeo declined to comment on whether the launches of the Giulia Quadrifoglio and the SUV have been delayed.

    The U.S. launches for the Giulia and Giulia-based SUV are scheduled to happen about 3 to 6 months after their European sales debuts.

    FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne said on Oct. 28 that the company is re-examining Alfa's global expansion because of the slowdown in the Chinese market. He reaffirmed a planned 5 billion euro investment announced in May 2014 to boost Alfa’s annual global sales to 400,000 units with eight new models but said the investment will be completed in 2019 or 2020.

    Fiat Chrysler will work hard in the next 30 to 60 days to review Alfa's business plan and the new vehicles may come in a different order to satisfy consumer tastes in Europe and North America, Marchionne told analysts on a conference call on on Oct. 28 after FCA announced its third-quarter results. The revised sequence likely will be announced in January, he said.

    Alfa has not announced the details of all its planned eight new models but sources say they include a replacement for the Giulietta compact, a large sedan, as well as large and compact SUVs.

    Delays to the first of those models, the Giulia and Giulia-based SUV, mean that Alfa is likely to sell well below the 400,000 units outlined in its business plan in 2018.

    IHS Automotive in its latest forecast predicts that Alfa will reach slightly more than 230,000 annual sales by 2018, up from 68,000 last year. Just under 50,000 of those sales will be Giulias and about 23,000 will be Giulia-based SUV, the firm forecasts.

    IHS analyst Ian Fletcher said Marchionne’s latest revision of Alfa’s revival plans appears to show that he is "managing expectations" for the brand. Marchionne may postpone the launch of niche models such as the large sedan, Fletcher said. FCA is likely to bring to market sooner the type of models Alfa needs "to enable it to survive," he said, including the Giulietta replacement.

    Maserati setback

    Marchionne said on the Oct. 28 call that the continued weakness of imported luxury vehicles in China had forced a reassessment of FCA's strategy for Alfa, but Max Warburton, an auto analyst at Bernstein, said Maserati’s falling sales may have prompted Marchionne to re-examine his strategy for Alfa.

    "It's a bit odd to start blaming China for a fundamental change in the plan for Alfa," he said. Marchionne is probably shocked by the speed of the deterioration in Maserati’s demand. "Maserati was the dry run for Alfa and it has not gone to plan," Warburton said.

    Maserati has been hurt by slowing demand in the U.S. and China, its two largest markets. The brand’s global vehicle sales fell 22 percent to 6,916 in the third quarter.

    Alfa's adjustments

    The first phase of Alfa Romeo's European product offensive has be delayed. The sales launches of these Giulia-based midsize models will start 6 to 9 months later than originally announced.

    Giulia Quadrifoglio

    New target: mid-2016

    Old target: late 2015

    Giulia-based SUV

    New target: early 2017

    Old target: spring 2016

    Giulia base models

    New target: late 2016

    Old target: March 2016

    Source: suppliers

    Alfa Romeos are not sold in China and FCA has not set a date for the brand’s introduction in the world’s largest market. Marchionne’s revival plan for Alfa originally called for China sales to account for about 20 percent the 400,000 target. A large portion of the volume projection that had been assigned to China will have to be absorbed by other regions, including North America and Europe, Marchionne said on Oct. 28.

    Giulia volume models

    The Giulia was previewed in June and officially unveiled in September at the Frankfurt auto show in the guise of the 503-hp Giulia Quadrifoglio version. The Giulia’s volume models, which will be powered by a new 2.0-liter gasoline engine and a new 2.2-liter diesel, are now likely to launch in Europe late next year instead of March next year, sources said.

    When finally launched, the Giulia will attack the core of the premium midsize segment dominated both in Europe and globally by the BMW 3 series, Mercedes-Benz C class and Audi A4. German rivals, however, are not worried.

    “Who is Alfa Romeo?” Audi CEO Rupert Stadler joked at the Frankfurt auto show in September. “I’m sorry, but we have to define the landscape of competition.” For Stadler, that landscape includes only Mercedes and BMW.

    IHS Automotive believes Alfa will sell 22,000 Giulias in Europe during its best year, forecast to be 2018, compared with European sales of 150,000 for the Mercedes C class, a volume of 140,000 for the Audi A4 and 92,000 for the BMW 3 series in the same year.

    Overly ambitious?

    Even on the eve of the Giulia preview in June, analysts were skeptical about Marchionne’s ambitious plans for Alfa. Bernstein’s Warburton said in a June 18 investors note that the Giulia will eventually go on sale but “we remain unconvinced that it will be followed by a significant expansion of the model range.”

    “Fiat has promised numerous re-launches for Alfa Romeo in the Marchionne era. New products and bold volume targets have come and gone,” Warburton said.

    Richard Hilgert, an auto analyst at Morningstar, said Marchionne’s 400,000 sales target is over-reaching. “I would be impressed if the brand sold 200,000,” he said.

    Said Hilgert: “I think Marchionne set an overly-lofty target as a shock treatment to a patient in cardiac arrest. The idea being to get an immediate dramatic response, but his plan for 400,000 units in 2018 would have the patient immediately get up and run a 5-kilometer race.”

    Nick Gibbs contributed to this report

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    2022 Eurostar winner Enrico Salvatori of Qualcomm
    Related Articles
    Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
    Recommended for You
    Enrico Salvatori
    2022 Eurostar winner Enrico Salvatori of Qualcomm
    Christian Dahlheim
    2022 Eurostar winner Christian Dahlheim of VW Financial Services
    Milan Nedeljkovic
    2022 Eurostar winner Milan Nedeljkovic of BMW
    Capgemini Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    Sponsored Content: Capgemini Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584

    Email Us

    ISSN 2643-6590 (print)
    ISSN 2643-6604 (online)

     

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News Europe
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
      • Latest news
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • New Product
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Sales By Market
      • On The Move
      • Auto Shows
        • Munich Auto Show
        • Geneva Auto Show
        • Paris Auto Show
        • Beijing Auto Show
        • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Features
      • Long Read
      • Interview of the Month
      • Focus on Electrification
      • Focus on Technology
      • Segment Analysis
      • Cars & Concepts
      • Supplier Spotlight
      • Europe By The Numbers
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Commentary
      • Guest columnists
    • Photos
      • Photo Galleries
      • Geneva Photo Gallery
      • Beijing Photo Gallery
      • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
      • Paris Photo Gallery
      • Shanghai Photo Gallery
    • Podcasts
    • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS
      • ANE Congress
      • ANE Rising Stars
      • ANE Eurostars
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
        • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
        • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
        • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
        • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
        • Toyota Europe
        • UFI Filters
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • LinkedIn
        • Twitter
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • About Us