“I'm a lot more confident now that Alfa Romeo will reconstitute a product offering that is acceptable globally, and more in particular in the United States and Canada," Marchionne was quoted as saying by Autonews. “There is a strong likelihood that the brand will be back here within the next 24 months.”
In the end of January, the poor performing Alfa Romeo brand got under the same leadership with Abarth and Maserati, as all three are now led by Harald J. Wester. The turnaround in Alfa's performance may come from the new compact vehicle platform which will serve as a base for 700,000 of the company’s cars (including Chryslers) per year in the US.
"Harald Wester will bring strong leadership capabilities and solid technical experience and know- how to this project. In his new role, Sergio Cravero will be well positioned to fully leverage his technical and commercial abilities," Marchionne said about the man he put in charge with changing the American belief that Alfa Romeo is a poorly built brand.
The platform, called C, will spawn a wider version for the US called Compact Wide, which will serve as a base for at least seven new cars belonging to the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands.
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