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Alfa Romeo Giulia Sedan Suffers Further Delays, SUV Coming in 2017

The Italian automotive industry will suffer several setbacks on the road to recovery, according to information leaked by parts suppliers working with Alfa Romeo. Marchionne promised US dealers a competitive sedan years ago. However, the Giulia's arrival will take place six months after the initially planned date.
Alfa SUV 1 photo
Photo: Alessandro Masera
Two parts suppliers have told Automotive News that the Giulia will be ready by the middle of next year. The SUV, on the other hand, will not come to the market before early 2017, nine months later than planned.

Those US dealers who were coaxed into opening Fiat showrooms will have even longer to wait, as the Giulia and its SUV brother will arrive 3 to 6 months after they hit Europe.

The entire plan to revive the Alfa Romeo brand is in jeopardy. Company CEO Sergio Marchionne said during a quarterly conference held in Italy that weakness in the Chinese car market was forcing them to rethink their corporate strategy there. Further details will be announced at the beginning of 2016, but we already know Alfa will now focus more on Europe and North America.

FCA stands by its plan to boost Alfa's annual global sales to 400,000 in 2018. However, they only managed 70,000 last year, and we struggle to see how the Giulia Quadrifoglio, with its €95,000 starting price, will make a huge difference.

An analyst from IHS Automotive predicts they will only be able to reach around 230,000 annual sales. Marchionne's original strategy required the sale of around 80,000 cars in China. However, the MiTo and Giulia are not yet offered in the country, and while the market is reaching saturation, no launch date for the brand has been set.

For now, the massive €5 billion investment plan remains in place. A total of eight new models have been outlined, including a Giulietta sedan and hatchback, a flagship sedan, and a crossover.

But Maserati has suffered setback after setback as well. After demand for the Ghibli and Quattroporte had diminished in major markets, sales fell 22% to 6,916 in the third quarter of 2015. It's been announced that the Alfieri sports coupe, originally scheduled for 2016, will be ready in 2018. A replacement for the GranTurismo could take until 2020.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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