Ailing Alfa Romeo, which has seen its sales fall from a peak of around 203,000 in 2000 to fewer than 100,000 last year and has been losing money for the past decade, is pressing ahead with the launch of its new Giulietta next spring.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The new car, which replaces the 147 hatchback, will make its world debut at the Geneva motor show next March, Alfa Romeo announced on Wednesday. 2010 marks the centenary of Alfa which Fiat acquired 23 years ago.
The car was originally going to be called the 148, then the Milano after Alfa’s home city but that name was dropped amid fears that many Alfa workers are likely to lose their jobs.
Media reports this week suggested that other new models might be canned or switched to Chrysler platforms and built in North America as Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne tries to reconcile his loss-making divisions.
Alfa Romeo said that sales of the new model will start in spring and be gradually extended to all major markets.
The Giulietta name is a tribute to an automobile legend which in the 1950s caught the imagination of generations of car enthusiasts, making the dream of owning an Alfa Romeo accessible for the first time.
The car incorporates new vehicle architecture and includes a next-generation steering system, a rigid yet light body made of aluminium and high-strength steel, and numerous on-board electronic systems.
Three settings (dynamic, normal and all weather) are available and can be selected using the ‘Alfa DNA’. This device – standard across the entire range of the new models including the recently launched entry level MiTo – modifies the operating parameters of the engine, of the steering system, and of the electronic differential, in addition to fine-tuning the stability control system.
Four turbocharged engines will be available at launch, all Euro 5 compliant and fitted with a standard start/stop system for reducing consumption and emissions: two petrol units (1.4TB – 120hp and 1.4TB MultiAir – 170hp) and two diesels (1.6 105hp and 2.0 170hp, both belonging to the second generation of JTDM engines). Finally, the range is completed with the lively 1750 TBi – 235hp with an exclusive Quadrifoglio Verde configuration.
