Alfa Romeo reaffirms commitment to Australia

DESPITE Alfa Romeo posting its lowest Australian gross sales this century thus far in 2023, proprietor Stellantis has confirmed that it stays dedicated to the Italian premium model on this nation because of the quantity of all-new product on its means as Alfa Romeo speeds in the direction of electrification.

Chatting with GoAuto on the Tonale compact SUV’s Australian launch, Stellantis company communications supervisor Alison Van Den Dungen stated that abandoning this market and Alfa’s 9 sellers can be untimely given the recent product that might be launched over the following few years.

“At this time limit there’s completely no cause to be strolling away from Alfa Romeo in Australia,” stated Ms Van Den Dungen.

“I undoubtedly don’t assume that now’s the appropriate time to be speaking about us leaving.”

Stellantis chief Carlos Tavares has acknowledged that each model within the group (which incorporates Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot, Citroen and Opel/Vauxhall) has 10 years to show its viability and longevity, so Alfa Romeo is hoping the Tonale marks the start of a gross sales and expertise ‘metamorphosis’, regardless of a number of failed earlier makes an attempt at attaining an analogous finish up to now.

Following a considerable funding in making an attempt to boost consciousness of Alfa’s new Tonale premium small SUV – commissioning billboards on main freeways, busy airports and procuring centres, and instigating social-media campaigns with Fb, Instagram and TikTok to try to entice a recent viewers to the model – Stellantis’s Australian outfit stays decided to show round Alfa Romeo’s lowest gross sales quantity on this nation for 25 years.

“We’re bringing out some actually thrilling product and that’s actually going to revitalise the model right here, if something,” stated Ms Van Den Dungen.

“It’s a extremely thrilling time for not solely Alfa Romeo however the entire Stellantis manufacturers right here in Australia and world wide, as we embark on this new journey, this new enterprise in the direction of EV throughout each single automobile in your complete household.”

Alfa Romeo has lastly begun the fast means of transitioning to widespread electrification, with the next-generation Giulia and Stelvio set to broaden on the delicate hybrid expertise launched with the Tonale and forthcoming Tonale plug-in hybrid variants.

Ms Van Den Dungen reiterated that dad or mum firm Stellantis is “taking a look at each single product throughout the board and the place that matches and the place its future lies”.

“It’s a extremely thrilling time for us,” she emphasised.

Whereas deprived by the delayed arrival of the facelifted MY23 Giulia sedan and Stelvio medium SUV, in addition to the year-long look forward to the all-new Tonale to succeed in Australia, Alfa Romeo’s 100 gross sales through the first quarter of 2023 is 38 per cent down on the identical interval in 2022 – a yr that already ranked as its lowest gross sales efficiency since 1998 (when, previous to the launch of the 156 sedan in Australia, the Alfa Romeo bought simply 311 vehicles in a full yr).

But Alfa Romeo’s scenario in Europe is beginning to seem promising, with first-quarter gross sales up 136 per cent and market share doubling (although precise figures weren’t formally quoted by Stellantis executives).

Globally throughout 2023’s first quarter, Alfa Romeo quantity grew 64 p.c com pared to the identical interval in 2022.

Alfa Romeo’s greatest Australian gross sales efficiency in latest instances was in 2002 when it managed 2513 deliveries, adopted by 2013 (2373 items) and 2014 (2498 gross sales).

The one different years it breached the 2000-unit mark had been in 2001 (2023 gross sales) and 2003 (2006 gross sales).

In 2018, regardless of the launch of the Stelvio SUV, Alfa achieved 1279 gross sales in Australia and since then has constantly dipped under 1000 items a yr, managing simply 571 deliveries in 2022.

In america, Alfa Romeo’s document gross sales yr was set in 2018 when it shifted 23,800 items. Earlier historic excessive factors for the Italian model’s US gross sales occurred in 1986 (8201 items) and 1977 (6712 items).

Alfa Romeo Australian gross sales information