Fabrizio Curci, head of Alfa Romeo EMEA, admitted that engineering issues delayed the launch of the Giulia by just a few weeks.

The executive nevertheless denied reports talking about a six-month delay because of Giulia’s failure to pass front, side and rear crash tests.

This is the second time the company denies the failed crash test report that originated from AutoNews.

Speaking to Autocar, Curci said: “Not one single screw is a carryover – this car is all new, and it is true that we wanted to launch this car with the right quality from the start, but that caused a delay of maybe some weeks, certainly not months.”

“There is no more to say than that. The car is ready, and it meets every requirement that has been set for it by the regulators and again internally by us.”

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