Autocar's Steve Cropley caught up with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne at the Detroit motor show to discuss the future of Alfa Romeo, his hopes for 2010 and whether he plans on committing to selling cars in the UK long term.
Steve Cropley blog - Why the Chrysler-Fiat deal will work out
Is it true you’ve delayed the launch of Alfa Romeo in the US?
Alfa has been underperforming for a long time. It has been the most difficult part of Fiat’s recovery, even though on paper it looks so attractive. The marque isn’t for sale, or anything like that. It’s our problem. But we do have to rethink our objectives and be realistic with ourselves before we we do anything else.
Does that mean the US plans are off?
No, they’re being worked on diligently. But I want to see us achieve two things before we proceed. First, I want to see how well we do launching the Giulietta. From the technical point of view it’s a huge step forward, but I want to see how it fares. And I want to see how we can take advantage of that through the company. It’ll take about a year to make that assessment.
You showed a Lancia Delta with Chrysler badges and a Chrysler grille. Is that a real project?
The rebadged Delta could quite possibly make a Chrysler vehicle. Not far from now we may see an even stronger convergence of the two marques. In Europe, Lancia is an undersized, underdeveloped brand, with nothing bigger than the Delta. Chrysler, which has a true global reach, has nothing smaller. Put them together and you have a full lineup.
Doesn’t that damage the Delta?
Let’s get this straight. I’m not selling any Lancia in the US. There’s no structural conflict. We could have designed that car here. We could see the two converge as early as the end of the year.
What will the relationship between Dodge and Alfa Romeo be like?
That’s very different. These are two distinctive brands. Dodge is an American brand and must stay that way. Where the two have similarities is through their reputations for great dynamics. They might co-operate, but they’ll stay separate.
Why didn’t you have a big press conference in Detroit?
Because we don’t have anything to show yet. There’s been a habit at Chrysler of showing stuff very early. But if I’m going to battle, I don’t want to threaten my enemy with a weapon I won’t have for 18 months.
What do you expect from 2010?
In Europe, the market will be a million lower than 2009, but I still think it’s on the way back now. Chrysler will have a tough year, because we’re waiting for a lot of new products. In 2011 we’’ll have 11 new vehicles and five that have been heavily refreshed. This year, we’re shooting for 1.1 million sales in the US and about 1.6-1.7 milion in total, and not worrying much about market share. Those numbers are where we can more or less break even. But we’ve just come out of bankruptcy; we need to have a little humility.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Re: Marchionne: 'Alfa has to improve'
I am worried. Berndt Pischetshrieder from BMW said the same things about Rover when the company launched the 75, we all know what happened after that.
I like Marchionne. I think he has performed miracles with Fiat Group, but his latest comments about Alfa Romeo are badly timed.
Fiat has not treated Alfa Romeo with respect. They have not invested in a RWD platform, they have not honed their products properly, they were late in getting rid of underperforming Alfa dealers, they have failed to keep Alfa Romeo on a par with the Germans. Most importantly, they have failed to maintain Alfa's singular competitive advantage, namely, it's fizzy, latin flair.
The way things are going, I predict Alfa Romeo will be closing down within 5 years. History is always repeating itself, Alfa Romeo will not be an exception, unless Fiat addresses all issues identified by true Alfa Romeo enthusiasts.
Re: Marchionne: 'Alfa has to improve'
No.
The 156 wasn't sweetly styled. The proportions weren't right and if they'd aped the Germans a bit more, it might have been ergonomic, reliable and able to ride and go around tight corners properly.
The 159 is better-looking through the boldness of its simplicity, but it's still a bit of a patchy machine. The Giulietta is styled (intentionally or not) to cater to the least tasteful, most gaudy sort of Italian - the type who has chandeliers and double glazing.
It's probably been worked on by some of the same team that designed the Ferrari 599, and maybe even the 458; although neither of those have the kitsch baubles snapped on.
Maserati now seems to be the only arm that represents Italy's unique flare for making beautiful things..
Re: Marchionne: 'Alfa has to improve'
You wouldn't think that saving Alfa should be that hard, but they just don't seem to understand their own brand. Like Peugeot, they've lost their mojo and don't seem to have the ability to produce real driver's cars anymore. Like someone else said, Renault can make FWD work, but Alfa lost the FWD magic with the Alfasud. Look at those GTs, Spiders and Breras - duds, every one of them. Would they really know how to engineer a great RWD chassis either? I'd love to see a revived Alfa Romeo range, but I'm losing hope.