Alfa Romeo Delays North American Rollout.
Alfa Romeo's long-promised return to the North American market appears to have hit yet another snag. While Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Alfa Romeo's parent company Fiat, had proclaimed that the sporty brand would debut a new vehicle on this side of the Atlantic as early as the end of this year, it would seem as though that automobile - and the rest of the Alfa Romeo flock that were planned to follow it in support - has been delayed by at least one year, and possibly two.
The vehicle that American and Canadian drivers were so excited about was the Alfa Romeo 4C, a compact coupe that would help the company re-establish its credibility as the purveyor of fast, well-handling rides with a distinct Italian styling edge. It would now appear that the Alfa Romeo 4C will not see the light of day until the North American International Auto Show in January of 2013 - and even then, an on-sale date has yet to be established. Instead of being quickly followed by the mid-size Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan and a mid-size crossover, these vehicles, too, have been pushed back until late 2014 at the very earliest.
What happened? Delays in the production of the Giulia, tied to design issues for the current generation of the vehicle, have made its release date uncertain. The company has also felt the pinch of a sales decline that has seen it lose ground around the world throughout 2012.
Sergio Marchionne will be laying out Alfa Romeo's revised product deployment strategy October 30, wherein the fate of these vehicles and the rest of their North America-bound brethren will be revealed in greater detail. Initially, it would seem as though the upcoming Alfa lineup will consist of the three previously-mentioned vehicles (with the crossover based on the redesign of the Jeep Liberty), with the potential for a 4C-related roadster to follow in 2015.
