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Fiat is prioritising Alfa Romeo’s relaunch in North America over restoring its credibility in Europe, CEO Sergio Marchionne has revealed. He added that fixing Alfa Romeo remained “the most difficult thing I have to do”, some seven years after taking the reigns at Fiat.
A new boss for Alfa Romeo in the US will be named before the end of the year ahead of the relaunch in mid-2013. Alfa left the US in 1995, but Marchionne revealed to Auto News that market tests on the strength of the Alfa brand in the US had been very positive, prompting the switch of focus from Europe to North America.
"We are going to target the US market first and work our way back into Europe," said Marchionne. "We have run market tests on the desirability of the Alfa brand in the U.S. and, notwithstanding our long absence from the market, it's still one of the best brands in the world, and I think we need to go back and grab it."
Fiat has set Alfa Romeo the target of selling 400,000 units per year worldwide by 2014, an aim that is perhaps ambitious given Alfa’s sales have traditionally hovered around the 150,000 unit mark since the 1980s.
In 2014, Marchionne expects Alfa to sell 85,000 units in North America, a figure he believes to be realistic. “It should be, simply because of what's being offered at the time of the launch,” he said.
The launch line-up will include the Alfa Romeo 4C compact rear-drive coupé and a new mid-size SUV co-developed with Jeep. The 4C is key to the US relaunch, as Alfa’s popularity in the country is partly down to fond memories of the Alfa Spider from the 1960s film, The Graduate.
The following year, the 159-replacing Giulia saloon and estate will be launched, cars that will share underpinnings with the Chrysler 200 replacement and be built in the US.
Read more about the Alfa Romeo Giulia
A new flagship saloon, uncovered by Autocar last month and likely to be called 6C, will also launch in 2014. It will be based on the Chrysler 300’s platform and be offered with a downsized version of the Chrysler 3.6-litre V6 Pentastar V6 as its core engine.
Other cars set for Alfa Romeo’s 2014 line-up include a five-door Mito and new Spider. Alfas will be sold in the US in Fiat dealerships, a network set to be expanded to 150 by the end of 2011.
See all the latest Alfa Romeo reviews, news and video
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