Rear-Drive Alfa Romeo Planned for 2014

Struggling Italian brand, Alfa Romeo, is set to launch a rear-wheel-drive flagship saloon in 2014 as part of its plan to turn around the company.

Alfa’s parent company, Fiat, revealed to investors recently that it is determined for Alfa Romeo to become a global competitor in the ‘near premium’ market currently dominated by Volkswagen, Volvo and a few others.

It seemed one of the strategies to achieve this is a partnership with Jeep. Although Fiat also owns Maserati and there have been rumours that the big rear-drive model could be based on the Quattroporte, Alfa’s own documents say that it will be powered by a V6 engine, hence suggesting it will be based on the next generation Chrysler 300C. The new model would likely to be called the Montreal or 6C and there is a high possibility that it will be built in the US, alongside the 300C – a huge advantage when launching the brad back into the North American market.

On a more sombre note, the overdue Giulia – which replaces the 159 range, has been delayed for another 12 months. With the 159 ceasing production end of next year, Alfa will be without a contender in the segment until early 2014.

Alfa’s CEO and Fiat’s Chief Technical Officer, Harald Wester insisted that Alfa would sell 155,000 cars this year. To put things in perspective, Volkswagen sold 1.97 million cars in the first 3 months of 2011 alone! This shows the monumental task ahead for Alfa bosses.

The only all-new mainstream Alfa scheduled to hit showrooms before the end of 2013 is a Ford Explorer-sized SUV. Alfa promises that the SUV will combine SUV versatility with “true Alfa Romeo performance”. Alfa is also promises lower running costs in its future products due to improvements in reliability, lower services costs, reduced fuel consumption and better residual values.

In the meantime, Alfa will be delivering a facelifted Mito in early 2013 and a new five-door Mito in late 2013. The 4C mid-engined sports car is also due in 2013. Although a niche product, it will lead the relaunch of the Alfa brand back into North America after 18 years of absence.

Alfa bosses admit that years of mistakes in marketing and brand management, including “poor lifecycle management of the product”, a lack of consistency and a lack of global awareness has damaged the brand. However, they reiterated that Alfa’s ratings for quality, reliability and customer satisfaction will match the market average this year. A sign that things are changing within the company.

The company says its new market positioning is “an Italian brand with a strong commitment to advanced technology, performance and style that will become a global competitor in near-premium segments within three years”.

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Source: Autocar