Sustainability: Manley and Alfa Romeo Think Small

As we told you last week, the Alfa Romeo brand’s near-term future contains far less excitement than initially thought. In Fiat Chrysler’s third-quarter earnings report, the automaker revealed a severely pared-down product portfolio for the struggling Italian brand. Gone are plans for a new 8C and GTV.

As the product picture becomes clear, it seems Alfa has even fewer items to dole out than once believed — which might be just the thing for a brand that’s struggling to leave the launch pad.

As reported by several media sources, the third model available in North America, the 4C, has ended production. No successor is in the works, and there’ll certainly not be a returning 8C in the coming five-year window. Overseas, the Giulietta could disappear in the coming year, union sources tell Automotive News.

The previous version of the company’s five-year plan called for seven models and sales of 400,000 vehicles per year; in the first nine months of 2019, global Alfa sales totalled just over 67,000 vehicles, JATO Dynamics data reveals. That’s a year-to-date decline of 31 percent.

The about-face leaves the Giulia sedan, Stelvio SUV, and a smaller utility vehicle bound for the compact class. That model, due for 2021, will feature an available plug-in hybrid powerplant, with a B-segment utility arriving the following year. Expect a battery-electric version.

According to FCA CEO Mike Manley, the long-wheelbase versions of the Giulia and Stelvio once planned for the Chinese market will not make it off the drawing board. Once-promised plug-in versions of the two models are nowhere to be seen.

“I fundamentally believe in the brand but we must make sure that any investments that we make generate an appropriate return,” Manley said in an earnings call. “We will also maintain the brand’s premium position.”

While Alfa’s foreseeable future is far more modest than previously planned, the idea of introducing splashy models with high development costs amid falling sales clearly rubbed FCA brass the wrong way. With the new plan, the automaker hopes to grow the brand in a much more structured manner. Slowly, yes, but perhaps more surely.

Manley claims the Giulia and Stelvio’s Giorgio platform has been updated to allow for plug-in variants when the company feels taking that plunge. It could also prove a useful piece of architecture for PSA Groupe, with which FCA plans to merge.

[Image: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]