Alfa Romeo is finalising the development of its first crossover, following a new saloon, as the revival of the brand takes shape.
A new mid-sized saloon is planned to premiere this year as the company starts to fulfill its promise to expand Alfa Romeo. The two models will both be based on rear-wheel-drive technology dubbed "Giorgio," which has been developed by an engineering team led by former Ferrari managers.
The SUV will likely be introduced in 2016. The two cars are critical to Marchionne's strategy to transform Alfa Romeo from a niche Italian manufacturer into a luxury brand capable of challenging BMW and Audi. Fiat Chrysler plans to spend €5 billion on Alfa Romeo's overhaul to tap into the cachet that lingers from cars like the Duetto Spider driven by Dustin Hoffman in the film "The Graduate."
With a plan to roll out eight new models by 2018, including two SUVs, the brand is seeking to increase sales more than fivefold to 400,000 cars. The expansion will come mainly from China and North America. As part of its return to the US market, Alfa Romeo presented the open-top spider version of the 4C sports car at the Detroit show.
- Bloomberg