Last Friday, a boat was docked in Naples ready to take around 200 Alfa Romeo Tonales to Japan and Australia. Instead, customers there will be waiting at least another 45 days for the next boat to depart as Alfa boss Jean-Philippe Imparato put the blockers on releasing the cars from the nearby Pomigliano plant because of a quality issue over just one part.

“It was a microchip on a headlight,” he said. “We could pass it on. I could have sent the parts by plane. But no. Do it, you’re dead.”

This is the all-in quality push from Alfa Romeo in action. It is the number one priority for Imparato, who has returned Alfa to the black and secured its future over the past couple of years. 

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The numbers of cars affected by Imparato hitting the big red stop button were small and in the grand scheme of things unlikely to make much difference to Alfa’s bottom line, no matter which month they’re delivered in. Yet in doing so, he has sent a message that the ‘Never receive, produce or pass on a defect’ mantra that adorns every wall and dominates every conversation in Pomigliano leads to actions rather than words.

“The decision cannot be yes,” he said, on whether the cars could have been released. “It is not possible, ever. If so, Pandora's box is open. I want to kill the idea of ‘hey guys, we’re Italian…’ [the inference being that such standards are expected] and the best way is to demonstrate it. You start with standards, and respect.”

With Imparato’s words ringing in our ears, so begins our tour of Pomigliano. Here, most time is spent in the inspection bays and quality control to emphasise the point that this is a very different Alfa Romeo.

The inspections are carried out by workers independently appointed and trained by Alfa owner Stellantis rather than by Pomigliano employees, to remove any notion of bias or pressure to get the cars out. 

On the day we visit, the factory is still waiting to release the new plug-in hybrid version of the car as it tries to sort out the geometry of the offside rear door now fitting properly into the rear quarter.

Cutting-edge laser tools are used to check this, and the problem is interrogated to try and find – and then solve – the root cause, be it a part issue, supplier or in production. Other recent fixes include a paint blemish above the rear offside tail-light, and a mounting issue with the same light. “Analyse the issues, find the root cause, then rectify,” says Imparato.