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Fiat has announced that it will be producing its famed Alfa Romeo brand for the Chinese market in partnership with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd. The joint venture was also announced by Zeng Qinghong, the president of the Chinese automotive group. The joint manufacturing effort will be called Guangqi Fiat and is scheduled to start production in July, 2012.

The venture will begin by producing Fiats, but Qinghong said, “Besides the Fiat brand, after talks between the two shareholders, we will introduce the Alfa Romeo brand to the venture company.” His comments were given during the Guangzhou auto show. The partners are still discussing a timetable for the production and sale of Alfa Romeos in China.

Guangqi Fiat will have an initial capacity of 140,000 units. The joint venture was developed with the intent of offering multiple auto brands and an array of products being manufactured at any one time. Chrysler Group, currently managed by Fiat, has openly said that it was going to aggressively seek a means to build more vehicles in China. The Guangqi Fiat organization could be a convenient venue for them to do so.

The Chinese auto market is seen to be the largest under served venue in the world at this time. The problem that Alfa Romeo will face is that it will be a johnny-come-lately to the luxury segment of that market. Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW have already established themselves and growth in the luxury segment has been slowing. Fiat and Chrysler may have success with their smaller family cars, but it could be a struggle for Alfa.

The Fiat brand is limited in the U.S. The only available vehicles are the 500 coupe and convertible. While those are solid cars, they do not have the draw that an Alfa Romeo would have. Fiat dealerships were not directly promised an Alfa franchise, but were led to believe that a Fiat dealership would end being an Alfa Romeo dealership as well. With that thought in mind, 130 established dealerships are a bit spooked by another delay in Alfa’s reemergence on the American market.

Alfa Romeo CEO Harald Wester said last week that three of the brand’s U.S. bound models will be delayed and a fourth will be canceled. The Giulia and Spider models will not make their debut until sometime in 2014. A compact SUV based on the Jeep Compass platform is still scheduled to arrive in 2013. Unfortunately, the proposed mid-size SUV has been scrapped. That dashes hopes for expansion at the Toledo, Ohio manufacturing plant.

As Fiat announces these additional production and arrival delays, dealerships are expected to forge ahead with required building projects and expansions. Many potential Alfa Romeo dealerships are expected to complete multimillion dollar projects without a firm date for vehicle shipments. It is understandable that the 130 companies that have already spent millions are getting a little leery of investing more money. That also puts Fiat’s projection of 200 dealerships established by the end of 2012 in jeopardy.

Granted, there are supposed to be two vehicles available in 2013, but neither is truly suited for the American market. The MiTo subcompact and the 4-C two-seat coupe are not the headliners that Alfa needs to lead with. Continuous delays have destroyed other automakers in the American market. A company that has not been on the scene for nearly 20 years needs to have its game together before announcing its return if it is to be successful.

Sergio Cravero has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Alfa Romeo Automobiles, where he served as head of marketing prior to today’s appointment. Mr. Cravero, 48, was born in Turin and holds a degree in mechanical engineering. He joined Fiat Group Automobiles in 1986 and has held various positions of growing responsibility in the technical, commercial and marketing areas.

Following this new appointment, responsibility for individual brands is as follows:

Fiat: Lorenzo Sistino,
Lancia: Olivier François,
Alfa Romeo: Sergio Cravero,
Fiat Professional: Lorenzo Sistino.
Abarth: Harald Wester, who will continue in his role as Chief Technical Officer for Fiat Group and Chief Executive Officer of Maserati.

In addition, to enhance the effectiveness of Fiat Group Automobiles and further strengthen synergies within the company, four new transversal functions are being created.

The new functions are:

· Sales, assigned to Lorenzo Sistino, who will be responsible for coordinating commercial activities for the Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands. This new function will have responsibility for all markets.

· Brand Marketing Communication, assigned to Olivier François, who will be responsible for coordinating above-the-line and below-the-line communication activities for all brands.

· Product Portfolio Planning, Automotive Institutional Relations, assigned to Daniele Chiari, who will be responsible for planning for passenger vehicles and powertrain and for managing institutional relations for the Sector.

· Product Concept, assigned to Sergio Cravero, who will be responsible for coordinating product development of individual models and determining product initiatives for the Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands.

Sergio Cravero, 48, was born in Turin. He graduated in mechanical engineering at Turin Politecnico and has a Masters in Business Administration from Milan Politecnico.

He joined Fiat Group Automobiles in 1986, in the Commercial division, where he worked as Product Manager and then Zone Manager for the Fiat brand. In 1991, he moved to the Product division where he was responsible for development of the Barchetta spider and, subsequently, for all Fiat and Lancia brand B segment models. In 1999, he returned to the Commercial area as Brand Manager for Alfa Romeo, where he was involved in development of the 147, awarded “2001 Car of the Year”. In 2002, he took over responsibility for the E development platform for the Fiat and Lancia brands. Since 2005, he has been head of marketing for Alfa Romeo.

REPORT: Fiat marketing chief & Alfa Romeo CEO Luca de Meo defects to Volkswagen (autoblog.com)
Italian Job: Fiat Seeks US Comeback (abcnews.go.com)

From HonestJohn.co.uk

Motorists who are concerned with the resale value of a vehicle when buying a car may be impressed by the latest addition to Alfa Romeo‘s range.

According to the manufacturer, statistics from industry expert Cap have revealed the Alfa MiTo is expected to retain more of its original price tag after 10,000 miles and one year than any other model in the UK.

Owners selling the 1.3 JTDM after this period of time have been advised they can expect to receive 81 per cent of what they paid when the car was brand new.

This is five per cent more than its nearest competitor from Mini.

: Image via Wikipedia

Used vehicle remarketing manager Simon Wheeler said: “This is significant testimony to the exceptional attention to detail Alfa Romeo has applied to this car in terms of design, build quality, reliability, running costs and desirability.”
The vehicle’s safety credentials may also impress buyers after it recently secured the maximum five-star rating from Euro Ncap.

Euro NCAP reveals new car safety tests (telegraph.co.uk)
Alfa Romeo MiTo in UK dealerships shortly, deliveries start in January (lightbulbs.org)

Alfa Romeo Brera

The Fiat Group will announce a series of new engines and new technologies at the Geneva Motor Show next month, including a new 1.8 16v petrol unit.

Italiaspeed reports that the 1.8 16v engine will be used in the upcoming Alfa Romeo 159, the Lancia Delta, the Alfa Romeo Brera, Spider and Mito GTA.

It will be offered in 170bhp, 200bhp and 230bhp outputs (the latter reserved for the Brera, Spider and Mito GTA) and features both direct injection and continuously-variable inlet and exhaust cam timing. It will be offered with either six-speed manual or six-speed ‘Q-tronic’ automatic transmissions.

Fiat Powertrain Technologies is also said to be close to production of its Multijet 2 new-generation diesel injection technology, and its Multiair electrohydraulic valve-actuation system. Multiair is said to improve torque from petrol engines by up to 20% at lower engine speeds and boost power by 10-15%, yet reduce fuel consumption by up to 10%.

The Multijet 2 engines will also be launched in Frankfurt, with new injection pump and solenoid injectors for more precise fuel delivery; these engines will meet the Euro 5 emissions standards, with reduced nitrous oxide emissions.

Besides small units like the 1.3 diesel, Fiat is preparing a 3.0 V6 Multijet 2 diesel, currently being tested in prototypes.

Club Alfa Sport

Alfa Romeo To Enter Chinese Market

Fiat Dealers Spooked By Another Alfa Romeo Delay

Sergio Cravero appointed to head Alfa Romeo

New Alfa Romeo ‘expected to retain most value’

New engines for Fiat and Alfa

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