Alfa Romeo’s U.S. return saga continues with a new development that will not please many Fiat dealers in the country. It appears that most of the dealers who were promised the Alfa Romeo 4C won’t be getting it, at least not this year.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne says the Italian sports car will go on sale at Maserati’s U.S. dealerships by the end of June. However, at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, the executive said the best-performing Fiat dealers will also get the 4C.
The situation appears to be different though, as Fiat Chrysler spokesman Rick Deneau told the Detroit News that those Fiat dealers who will be getting Alfa Romeos this year have not been notified by the company.
“They have not been identified yet,” Deneau said, confirming that the 4C will debut by the end of the second quarter in the U.S. Many Fiat dealers were convinced to set up shop by Sergio Marchionne with the promise they would also be allowed to sell Alfa Romeos when the brand returned to the United States.
Since no Fiat dealers have been notified about the sale of Alfa Romeos with only four months ahead of the 4C’s scheduled U.S. debut, franchise owners are starting to doubt that will happen.
Analysts like IHS Automotive’s Stephanie Brinley expect Alfa Romeo to sell under 500 4Cs in the U.S. this year. However, Brinley told the news daily that she expects Alfa to sell about 8,400 units in 2015 when more Fiat dealers get a chance to sell the vehicle [Ed. note: that doesn’t sound right, as the Italians won’t produce that many 4Cs, unless she means Alfa Romeo models in general]. For 2016, Brinley forecasts sales of 28,000 Alfa Romeos in the U.S., including the upcoming Giulia sedan.
By Dan Mihalascu
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