With U.S. new car sales set to fall below the most pessimistic of pre-metldown prognostications (ours at 12m p.a.), is it any wonder that Fiat has decided not to brings Alfa Romeo brand stateside? Our resident historians will be glad to recount the absolute ass-kicking Alfa endured in The Land of the Free, but again, this is the worst of all possible times to try and get something started in the American market. Strike that. Just BEFORE the collapse would have been the worst time. This is an excellent time to NOT import mass market Italian cars stateside. And so they aren’t. “Alfa’s U.S. return was originally planned by {Fiat Group and Fiat Group Automobiles CEO Sergio] Marchionne for the final quarter of 2009, then later delayed to the 2010,” Automotive News [sub] reports “In pushing that back another year, Marchionne told analysts, because ‘it would be simply crazy investing for returning Alfa in such a depressed U.S. market.'” And so… “Alfa’s return to the United States will be delayed by a year to 2011.” [TTAC tip: don’t hold you breath.] China after the jump.
Sergio also readjusted his Chinese sales targets. “The new 2010 goal for Fiat sales in China is now 50,000.” That’s gonna be rough, as “In China, Fiat has so far missed all the targets Marchionne had previously set. The Italian automaker has not produced vehicles in China since December 2007, when it ended its joint venture with Nanjing Automobile. Fiat is currently importing ‘a few thousand’ vehicles produced in Italy and Turkey, Marchionne said. Each is sold at a loss, but the automaker needs to continue importing vehicles to bolster its Chinese dealer network. Because of this, Marchionne acknowledged that the 300,000 units sales target he had set for 2010 is unreachable.” Ya think?
Fiat might be crazy to import Alfa right now, but their 500 and other small cars would be selling well if only they were available. Hopefully their quality from the 1970s has improved. If not, maybe that’s why they don’t bother re-entering the US market.
Seems like a glaring omission when one of the world’s largest automakers has no presence in the world’s largest auto market. Any thoughts on why this is?
This sucks, I would have bought a MiTo…
Nooooo, I’m getting tired of waiting for Alfa to come back. Who am I kidding, they do this every few years.
They should bring the Fiat 500 and maybe MiTo here in limited numbers and just sell them at a premium at Masarati dealers. Test the market out and get their name back here in the US for a limited expense with a product that would sell right now. What is the max number of imports before they have to do crash certification here?
Fiat needs a (North or South) American factory to make Alfa competitive (price-wise) here in the US. Two possibilities are: they could use a highly-modified Case-New Holland factory that they already own, or buy a factory from a soon-to-be Chapter 11 Chrysler or GM. They also need a distribution network. When tied up with GM, there were rumors that Fiat were going to sell Alfas at Cadillac (or Pontiac!) dealers. Now BMW (or MINI) is bandied about as a sales/distribution network.
Absolutely the right decision.
The only dealer network where this is possible is Maserati or Ferrari. There’s no way anything below the 8C should be within 100 miles of those two brands.
Secondly, despite appearances, there is a wealth of small cars in the US right now. Aside from Italian cachet, there’s no reason to buy a Cinquecento instead of a Honda Fit.
Aside from Europe, Italian cars only work as super cars.
@gslippy : A couple of years ago Fiat was where Chrysler is at today. The company had to focus its turnaround on markets where the product range had a fighting chance; mainly Italy, Europe and Brazil.
Fiat manufactures MAINLY hatchbacks, with small diesel engines, and manual gearboxes. Most of Fiat’s current models would not sell in North America.
Moreover, in order to lower the cost entry to the US market, US specification requirements have to be baked in the car at the project stage which could take years to actually produce a model.
Entering the US with one product (500), no dealer network, a € cost base in a $ market and zero proper after-sales support would kill the brand once and for all.
I agree with Morea’s comment on the need for a US/MEX/CAN manufacturing base.
@Samir: Italian cars also work in Brazil and North Africa because the range is adapted to the market.
Aside from Italian cachet
I think this comment misses the point. Italian style and feel, especially road feel, are really the only reasons to buy an Alfa or a Fiat. (This should be the case for any brand or nationality in its own way.(Tip of the hat to RF.)) Otherwise we’d all just drive the Toyota line up: Yaris, Corolla, Camry, (and for those who really want to live it up!) Solara. Don’t get me wrong: I drove a bullet-proof Toyota for years, but there is more to life, thankfully.
Aside from Europe, Italian cars only work as super cars.
There is nothing in the US like the current Alfa line up. There is a place for them in the US if they can pull it off financially.
I don’t see why the 8C couldn’t be sold along side Ferrari and Maserati, but that’s only one low-production high-priced exotic car in the company of others.
LDMAN1 : Entering the US with one product (500), no dealer network, a € cost base in a $ market and zero proper after-sales support would kill the brand once and for all.
BMW did it with the Mini and I don’t see why Fiat couldn’t pull off something similar with the 500.
This is sad news. I drove 500 in Spain few months ago. It was as good as Mini, except more comfortable: higher driving position, superb ergonomics, handling and feel of the road. The felt as good as any small car, not particularly solid, but much better feel then FIAT 124 Spyder of my youth. The car was extremely economical, of course Alfa for US would be more powerful, but I think it would sell well, especially if it would be produce at the same factory as 500 in Poland (no rattles on rental car!).
Well said Morea. I agree there is something lacking in the offereing here that could fill with just 500 and MiTo. There really isn’t anything the compete with the MINI and people buy plenty of those and put up with the issues of owning a British/German car. The Italians would probably have an easy time steeling some of VW’s bacon also with those 2 models if they were priced competetively. I would bet there are plenty of people buying VW’s that would jump at the chance to get into a small Fiat or Alfa, comperable but probably better reliability and build quality, more fun to drive and no VW dealer to bend you over while messing up your car.
The market is ready made for them to steel they just have to do it right and not half ass it. Doesn’t Fiat already have a presence in Brasil with manuf. and such.
EDIT: I just found that the 500 is made in Poland, how expensive can it be to imort something from there, I would think they could make the price compete with a MINI. Also it said the 500 and Ford Ka share a platform, kill 2 birds with one stone, Ford and Fiat could enter a joint venture and manufacture both in Mexico and sell them here. Oh well it’s not going to happen it will be 2020 and there still wont be Alfa’s or Fiat’s sold here.
Damn, that’s a drag. On the bright side at least I don’t have to be quite as aggresive paying off my 300C so I can buy an Alfa when they show up in the USA again. From a business perspective it makes perfect sense but then again Alfas really aren’t about rational thinking. The reason they connect is because they are so emotional. With all of the transportation appliances on the market today we could use some Alfa craziness.
@Johnster: BMW did it with the Mini and I don’t see why Fiat couldn’t pull off something similar with the 500.
Actually BMW did it with GBP manufacturing base in the UK but also with a $ base (Spartanburg X5) which helped cushion any currency fluctuation.
Mini is a premium brand and there are margins to play with. Fiat is not a premium brand.
But I think we all missed the point on 500. The demand on this car is greater than the production capacity. Fiat makes more money selling them all in Europe no point getting into the US market.
Too bad, I was hoping to see a Brera in person sometime – coolest hatchback on the planet in my eyes.
Well, there is the Corvette…
I was recently in Italy, and although I drove extensively I survived. Of all the cars I saw Alfas were by far the best looking over a range of models. Not that I could afford one over here, but it would be a treat just to see some drive by at slower than autostrada speeds.
LDMAN1 : Mini is a premium brand and there are margins to play with. Fiat is not a premium brand.
The Mini was not a premium brand when it was a model sold by Austin and Morris and when it left the U.S. after the 1967 model year. It was gone for 36 years and when reintroduced in 2003 lots of Mini buyers had no memory of the original and it was able to be repositioned.
Fiat left the U.S. market after the 1983 model year and has only been gone for 25 years, but there are still many young buyers who have no memory of past Fiats. If the 500 proves to be reasonably reliable (comparable to the Mini) and if Fiat sets up a decent sales network, parts distribution, and customer service experience there’s nothing to prevent Fiat from repositioning themselves in the U.S. market as the manufacturer of premium-branded smart, chic, stylish transportation.
Damn.
I really wanted a Spyder JTDM.
–chuck