In the UK last year, just 1574 Alfa Romeo cars were registered – less than lacklustre Smart (1581) and clinging-to-life Subaru (2107), and barely more than Ssangyong (1525).
The news is no better elsewhere around the globe: Alfa’s modern-day high point in European volume terms came in 2001, when it registered 205,431 cars. Pre-pandemic, it managed just 54,365 in 2019, and 35,718 in 2020. Numbers are still being collated for last year but are expected to be around 25,000 – an eighth of where Alfa was 20 years ago, despite at least two ‘reinventions’ since then. US registrations will struggle to double that number.
Chip supply and stoppages in production have played a part but, most worryingly, the current rebirth has been led by the Alfa Romeo Giulia saloon and Stelvio SUV.
