Comments on: The new 75? http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/2010/02/18/the-new-75/ Made in Britain... Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:54:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Scott Hutchings http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/2010/02/18/the-new-75/comment-page-1/#comment-4673 Scott Hutchings Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:25:37 +0000 http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/?p=1341#comment-4673 I am now on my third Alfa. Each one I have had has been better than the last and my current one, a late model 156 JTD Sport, is probably the best car that I've ever owned. Indeed, the current range of cars that Alfa has are probably the best line up of cars it has had in its long and illustrious history. However, the problem - as far as UK sales are concerned - I feel at present is the lack of dealers. It used to be the case that every FIAT dealer had a small Alfa section tacked on to it. Now this was probably not the image that Alfa wanted - if you think about it, it's probably the same as every MINI dealership having a small BMW bit tacked on or a BL dealership back in the 70's where one could buy everything from a Metro right through to Rover 3500. Same company but aimed at different market segments. Also, when the salesforce had to sell everything from a FIAT Panda to an Alfa 166, it meant you were buying a car aimed at a premium part of the market but not getting the sales (and, particularly. the aftersales) to match. FIAT (nee Alfa) therefore took the decision to prune its dealers and sell Alfa Romeos from only solus dealers. Correct thinking but it has pruned them too far. You can struggle to find one now. I mean in Scotland, until a small one opened in Glasgow recently, there was only three covering the entire country. So I hope that, when considering Alfa's future, the FIAT boss takes a look at their own actions. If FIAT truly has ambitions of being a global car company it cannot afford to not compete in the BMW/Audi/Lexus/Jaguar sector. It cannot move Ferrari or Masterati down market into that segment and at the same time FIAT is too mass market to move it up and Lancia is not even selling cars in two of the major markets for those types of cars. As for Chrysler/Dodge - could they really be seen as an aspirational choice over a BMW?? So that leaves Alfa. I just hope FIAT realise that before doing anything rash. I am now on my third Alfa. Each one I have had has been better than the last and my current one, a late model 156 JTD Sport, is probably the best car that I’ve ever owned. Indeed, the current range of cars that Alfa has are probably the best line up of cars it has had in its long and illustrious history.

However, the problem – as far as UK sales are concerned – I feel at present is the lack of dealers. It used to be the case that every FIAT dealer had a small Alfa section tacked on to it. Now this was probably not the image that Alfa wanted – if you think about it, it’s probably the same as every MINI dealership having a small BMW bit tacked on or a BL dealership back in the 70′s where one could buy everything from a Metro right through to Rover 3500. Same company but aimed at different market segments. Also, when the salesforce had to sell everything from a FIAT Panda to an Alfa 166, it meant you were buying a car aimed at a premium part of the market but not getting the sales (and, particularly. the aftersales) to match.

FIAT (nee Alfa) therefore took the decision to prune its dealers and sell Alfa Romeos from only solus dealers. Correct thinking but it has pruned them too far. You can struggle to find one now. I mean in Scotland, until a small one opened in Glasgow recently, there was only three covering the entire country.

So I hope that, when considering Alfa’s future, the FIAT boss takes a look at their own actions. If FIAT truly has ambitions of being a global car company it cannot afford to not compete in the BMW/Audi/Lexus/Jaguar sector. It cannot move Ferrari or Masterati down market into that segment and at the same time FIAT is too mass market to move it up and Lancia is not even selling cars in two of the major markets for those types of cars. As for Chrysler/Dodge – could they really be seen as an aspirational choice over a BMW?? So that leaves Alfa. I just hope FIAT realise that before doing anything rash.

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