Alfa Romeo is Bumping Tonale Production Due to High Demand
Alfa Romeo doesn’t sell anywhere near the number of vehicles that other brands under the Stellantis umbrella do, but the storied Italian automaker appears to have a hit with its new Tonale SUV. The company said it would increase production capacity to meet the demand for the upcoming vehicle, which is due here later this year.
Automotive News reported that Stellantis is bumping production output to 400 units a day, which requires a second shift at Alfa’s Pomigliano, Italy factory. The company will bring back 1,600 temporarily laid-off workers to run the shift.
Though it’s pushing for more output now, the factory saw a 34 percent increase in production last year. A total of 165,000 vehicles left the factory in 2022, split between 20,000 Tonales and 145,000 Pandas. The Fiat Panda isn’t sold here, but the funky city car is a sales hit in Europe, where it sold 126,033 units last year.
The Tonale is already on sale in Europe, where Alfa sold 11,171 last year. Though it will be sold exclusively with a plug-in powertrain here, Europeans have mild-hybrid and diesel options. Interestingly, the Pomigliano factory will also handle Dodge Hornet production, and the Tonale-based SUV will be available with gas or plug-in hybrid powertrain options.
[Image: Stellantis/Alfa Romeo]
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It's all dreams. In 5 years it will be dead.
400 units a day? Big Whoop. Tesla makes nearly 10X the # of Model Y in just one of four factories. I would think that would be more newsworthy.
If the Fiat made a higher-performance mini car, would it be called the Panda Express?
20,000 is laughably low for such a low-priced, mass market vehicle. Porsche has sold way more than 1 MILLION 911s alone.
PS So is 40,000, despite allowing Alfa to say it increased 100%.