Following the launch of the Giulia sedan, Alfa Romeo’s product offensive will continue with an SUV, which will launch by the middle of next year. Fiat Chrysler CEO confirmed the launch date last week and said the Alfa Romeo SUV will be one of eight new models the brand plans to launch by 2018, in an effort to revive the marque globally that is estimated to cost $5.6 billion.
According to the plan, Fiat’s Italian auto plants will become export bases for Alfa Romeo and Maserati models which obviously have higher profit margins than Fiat models. If the plan becomes a success, it will help FCA boost its profits.
Sergio Marchionne was quoted as saying by The Detroit Free Press that the company has already spent nearly €2 billion ($2.2 billion), a sum which includes “the industrialization on the first car, the architecture, the engines and effectively all the prep work in connection with the launch of the second vehicle, which is coming at the end of the first half, beginning of the second half of 2016.”
The executive did not reveal other details about the SUV, such as its size, name or production location. The model will play a key role in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ plans to boost Alfa Romeo’s global sales to more than 400,000 by 2018 – 150,000 of which in North America. Compare that with the 74,000 vehicles Alfa Romeo sold globally in 2013 and the plan looks overly ambitious, to say the least.
Renderings courtesy of RM.Design
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