Alfa Romeo coming to China
Sports car maker Alfa Romeo will look to China for future growth, brand CEO Harald Wester said at the Geneva Auto Show.
“Most probably we will be in China pretty soon,” Wester said, without specifying a time frame.
The brand’s strategy would be to import cars, he said, so “we don’t have to do a big investment and create a new plant.”
Fiat’s sporty Alfa Romeo brand unveiled the 4C concept car — a super-light sporty two-seater aimed at tapping the brand’s racier identity. The body is carbon fiber, will weigh less than 850 kilograms and boasts over 200 hp.
After some technical finetuning, the car will be ready for sale in late 2012, Wester said.
It will be a global car for Alfa Romeo, but will follow into the U.S. market after an C-class SUV and a D-class sedan, the successor of the 159, planned for the brand’s re-entry into the United States in late 2012 or early 2013 after a nearly 30-year absence.
Wester said Alfa is still working on dealer network in the United States, playing with concepts either establishing its own network or teaming up with premium brand Maserati, which Wester also heads.
Alfa Rome’s sales targets in 2011 are 165,000 cars, compared with around 113,000 last year.
In Geneva, Volkswagen CEO Ferdinand Piech said that if Alfa Romeo were in VW hands, it could quadruple sales. Volkswagen’s very public expressions of interest in the brand has been rebuffed firmly by Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, whose goal is to create an automaker capable of producing 6 million cars a year.
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I have owned Alfas, and I’m a big fan, but I don’t see them doing that well in China. Chrysler/Fiat needs a greater presence in China, but the Alfas may not be much help in achieving that goal. Their model lineup will seem a lot like MG, but at a higher price point. They’ll offer more performance and Italian style, but that may not be enough to interest Chinese consumers who are not all that excited about MG. I hope I’m wrong on this one. I really like Alfa.
you said that the Chinese consumer will not be attracted to a car with more performance and Italian style. What could their interest be? What are other sports car producer that are present in China, be it fully imported or CKDs? And which city are known for their expensive and stylish cars besides Shanghai and Beijing.
My comment is only in reference to SAIC’s sporty MG brand, which is outsold by it’s sister brand Roewe. Chinese consumers seem to like roomy, practical cars, with a touch of luxury. The concept of the “sports sedan” is not as well accepted in China as it is in Europe, where Alfa sells most of it’s vehicles.
I as a chinese,think the Alfa its a beautiful car,but under the hood its all fiat engineering or i’m wrong?
And for what I know fiat its not the most reliable engine in the world,actually they are pretty bad
Yes, Alfa uses variations on Fiat power-trains now, but the new generation engines are much improved.
Fiat Multi-air and Multi-jet gas and diesel engines are very competitive, but old reputations are hard to loose. Style and sporty handling are what make Alfas special, and those qualities have not been lost over the years.
They are really getting better very fast. Maybe not the 159 shown here, which is by far their oldest model, but the new ones. The Alfa Giulietta is also the safest car you can currently buy here in europe.