In what has become something of a joke for those closely following the Fiat Group’s plans to re-introduce Alfa Romeo to the States, the Milanese firm’s CEO Harald Wester told journalists in Frankfurt that the company has once again pushed back the U.S. presentation of several key models.
Wester also said that Alfa Romeo has canceled plans to build a mid-sized SUV at Chrysler Group’s factory in Ohio.
In July, and following a string of delays that began in 2000, Fiat and Chrysler Group head honcho Sergio Marchionne said that Alfa Romeo would enter the U.S. market with the 4C sports car before the end of 2012, and launch a compact crossover model in 2013.
Now, Marchionne is claiming that the current debt crisis in Europe is forcing the company to reevaluate the timing of its new vehicle introductions.
“We are reviewing volumes and the timing of new products to see when it is really necessary to launch them,” Marchionne said.
Under the new plan –which could very well be reassessed in a couple of months […]- Alfa will bring the 4C to the States in the first half of 2013, and the Ford Fiesta-sized MiTo hatchback in the second part of the same year.
In addition, the latest plan ditches the Jeep Liberty-based Alfa Romeo crossover and instead calls for a large rear-wheel drive sports sedan, loosely based on the next generation Maserati Quattroporte which will appear sometime after 2014.
Story source: Automotive News [Sub. Req.]
