“The first car I was driven in, as a baby in 1966, was an Alfa Romeo Giulia,” declared Alfa Romeo boss Jean-Philippe Imparato at the recent unveiling of the Tonale crossover. His Alfista father followed that with an Alfetta in 1972, then a 2.0 GTV and a V6 GTV.
If that upbringing wasn’t enough to qualify Imparato for the job of leading Alfa Romeo into a new era under Stellantis, his proven track record at Peugeot certainly is.
Before being appointed Alfa Romeo boss in January 2021, Imparato had run Peugeot for five years. It is now the second-biggest-selling brand in Europe, with some of the healthiest profit margins in the business. It is no surprise, then, that Stellantis overlord Carlos Tavares put Imparato in charge of the ailing Italian marque, which has so much heritage and soul yet so much to prove.
One year on, despite low sales volumes, Alfa Romeo is now profitable once again – certainly a greater measure of success in Tavares’s world.
The next five years are already locked down in terms of investment and strategy, starting with the Tonale. Other cars expected include a smaller crossover called the Brennero and a new GTV, rumoured to be an electric four-door coupé. The first electric car will arrive in 2024.
The Alfa Romeo of the future is technology-forward – “we will be in the top quartile for [this] in our cars,” predicts Imparato – while not forgetting its past. “I will never disrespect Alfa Romeo design,” says Imparato. “You have to be cautious of the brand. You have to inject some points of reference in the cars from our fantastic history.”
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I'm clearly bias (i own one) but I struggle to see a better looking 4.7 m long suv/raised wagon type vehicle than my Stelvio. And I won't even engage with the tired old Alfa reliabilty cliche, yawn.
I honestly don't understand the persistence in keeping brands because they have had a great past, they pretty much have being doing crap since the early nineties, they don't resonate with anyone from my generation (mid twenties) and even people in their mid 30's haven't seen Maserati or Alfa doing anything that was as good or good enough to compete with German premium cars in dependability quality and performance
So, what do they mean by premium? More expensive then mainstream counterparts, but less then true luxury vehicles, maybe?! And what you get for that premium investment is a beautiful vehicle, with sporting character. That could work, but at the heart of much of Alfa's current problems is quality, both perceived and actual. Yes, they can build a road thumper, but if the halo vehicles are suppose to trumpet the best your brand can offer, the fact that it spends as much or more time in the shop for repairs, communicates the same for the rest of the line up, real or imagined! Not brand, whether mainstream, premium or luxury, be it the prettiest or ugliest thing on wheels, will keep customers coming back, if they're vehicles have the reputation of not work!
The article mentions Imperato as the one who halted the Tonale intro but in reality that call came from Carlos Tavares. He wasn't satisfied with a couple of things among which overall quality. My take is your worries the Tonale will spend considerable time in the shop will not materialise.
But I have owned a BMW from new for 11 years which I just got rid of. Biggest piece of shit for reliability, and BMW themselves fd my car up proper - will give you details later if you're interested.
Modern German cars are made disposable after 5 years or the included service plan expires - whichever comes first.
I can guarantee you any modern Alfa would have been more reliable mechanically.
My experience has made me so reactionary I've now ordered a hybrid Toyota.