Marchionne Gives North America Priority Over Europe for Alfa Romeo's Future Plans

Fiat-Chrysler CEO, Sergio Marchionne, announced that he will appoint a boss for the Alfa Romeo brand exclusively for the North American market. This is because the Italian carmaker’s return to the US after a 17-year absence will be his top priority, relegating Europe, in which Alfa’s sales are disappointing, to second place.

“We are going to target the US market first and work our way back to Europe”, Marchionne said in an interview with Autonews Europe. “We have run market tests on the desirability of the Alfa brand in the US and, not withstanding our long absence from the market it’s still one of the best brands in the world. I think we need to go back and grab it.”

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Alfa Romeo Lays Out Product Plans Until 2014, Readying a New RWD Saloon with a V6 Engine

Out of all the mainstream brands included in the Fiat Group and Chrysler LLC portfolio, Alfa Romeo has the most potential to achieve a global reach and bring in some much needed cash and sales. The Italian company's boss Sergio Marchionne is well aware of this and that's one of the reasons he doesn't want to sell Alfa Romeo to Volkswagen, despite Ferdinand Piechs' persistent efforts.

However, one of the most pressing problems with Alfa Romeo is the constant delays, be that for the successors to models like the 159 series or the company's long-awaited return to the U.S. market.

Suffice it to say, there's no way of being sure that the Fiat Group has managed to sort out the time schedule-related problems when it comes to Alfa Romeo. Nevertheless, at a recent event for investors, the Fiat Group introduced an updated plan for the Milanese brand, which it hopes will revitalize Alfa Romeo through the presentation of new models.

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