Alfa Romeo to Branch Off From Underneath Fiat
Fiat- Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has a new plan to try and reinvigorate Alfa Romeo and turn it into a global brand, and it has nothing to do with new cars.
Marchionne has decided to split Alfa Romeo into its own stand-alone company, separate from the Fiat brand according to Automotive News. Currently, Alfa is a part of the Fiat Group which consists of Lancia, Fiat professional commercial vans, the Abarth performance brand and the core Fiat brand.
Within this new plan, Alfa will become its own company, which means it will have a publicly disclosed profit and loss statement, making any future progress visible. In the 10 years that Marchionne has been in charge, Alfa Romeo has never turned a profit. Turning around Alfa Romeo is also a large part of making Fiat’s European operations profitable once again.
SEE ALSO: Alfa Romeo to Use Ferrari Engines
When it comes to products, a new line of rear-drive sedans and SUVs are in the works at Alfa. Marchionne wants the Italian brand to move upmarket to tackle the German luxury automakers, and has his sights set on a 300,000 unit yearly sales goal by 2017. Alfa will leverage the network of 1,700 Jeep dealerships outside of Europe and North America to sell its vehicles, and it will use Ferrari engines in its highest trimmed vehicles.
In North America, the Alfa-Romeo 4C sports car is set to launch sometime before the end of 2014.
[Source: Automotive News Europe]
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Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
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