Photo: Alfa Romeo
It’s time for Alfa Romeo to make a much awaited return to the forefront of the car industry and that might come via a new model that is set to be unveiled this week. According to Automotive News, the Italian brand will be showing us the new Giulia midsize sedan that is bound to take on the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class on Wednesday, June 24.
The date wasn’t chosen at random either. The unveiling will take place at the Alfa Romeo museum in Arese, where the automaker used to have its headquarters from 1963 to 1986 when it was taken over by Fiat. The day will mark the 105th anniversary of its founding.
This is all part of Sergio Marchionne’s plan to invest no less than $6 billion in the brand to bring out of anonymity and turn it into a proper rival for the aforementioned German brands that are dominating Europe at the moment.
The initial plan is to launch three models by the end of 2017. The first one will be the Giulia that is set to be unveiled this week, probably as a concept. It will be followed by a midsize SUV and then a flagship sedan, both of them to enter production by the end of 2017. This would be the first time Alfa Romeo has its name and brand on a Sport Utility Vehicle.
First of all, Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles wants to take the sales figures of the Italian brand up from 70,000 units worldwide at the moment to over 400,000 by 2018. Some 150,000 of them are expected to reach the North American continent.
The same source claims that their new sedan will be up for grabs in dealerships worldwide early next year.
Under the bonnet we’ll have 2-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engines with direct injection making anything between 180 and over 300 HP at first, hooked up to both manual and automatic transmissions. At the same time, AWD could be offered as an optional extra, while RWD will be the standard choice.
It all sounds pretty good from where we’re sitting right now and the thing is, if Jaguar seems to have built a really good car in the shape of the XE that will be fighting the 3 Series head on, why couldn’t Alfa do the same?
This is all part of Sergio Marchionne’s plan to invest no less than $6 billion in the brand to bring out of anonymity and turn it into a proper rival for the aforementioned German brands that are dominating Europe at the moment.
The initial plan is to launch three models by the end of 2017. The first one will be the Giulia that is set to be unveiled this week, probably as a concept. It will be followed by a midsize SUV and then a flagship sedan, both of them to enter production by the end of 2017. This would be the first time Alfa Romeo has its name and brand on a Sport Utility Vehicle.
What does Marchionne expect to achieve?
$6 billion is not a small sum. Sure, for an entire brand, it’s not all that big of a deal, especially when it’s coming from the FCA giant. However, there will be some expectations behind this investment.First of all, Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles wants to take the sales figures of the Italian brand up from 70,000 units worldwide at the moment to over 400,000 by 2018. Some 150,000 of them are expected to reach the North American continent.
The same source claims that their new sedan will be up for grabs in dealerships worldwide early next year.
Five more models to come by 2018
It seems like these three new cars are just the beginning as Alfa Romeo will get five more cars for its line-up by 2018. Apart from the midsize sedan, full-size sedan and initial SUV there will be another SUV, a second midsize model (could be a coupe), a two-seat roadster and two more compact models that will replace the current Giulietta.Under the bonnet we’ll have 2-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engines with direct injection making anything between 180 and over 300 HP at first, hooked up to both manual and automatic transmissions. At the same time, AWD could be offered as an optional extra, while RWD will be the standard choice.
It all sounds pretty good from where we’re sitting right now and the thing is, if Jaguar seems to have built a really good car in the shape of the XE that will be fighting the 3 Series head on, why couldn’t Alfa do the same?
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