For the past 25 years, the relaunch of Alfa Romeo has been a staple auto news story. But, finally, it looks as if the brand has gained traction.
It’s thought that Alfa sold around 170,000 cars in 2017 – the majority of them the more upmarket and expensive Giulia and Stelvio SUV – a jump of about 60% on 2016.
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Unsurprisingly, it’s the Stelvio that is making the most headway. According to JATO Dynamics, in February this year, the SUV outsold the Porsche Macan across the 28 EU markets. The Stelvio was also well ahead of the Jaguar F-Pace.
No surprise, then, that Alfa will be rolling out an even bigger luxury SUV after the Stelvio has been so well-accepted by the European market. The profit margins for luxury SUVs are especially handsome.
Conventional wisdom said the market for luxury coupés was in irreversible decline, but Alfa’s product planners have probably been keenly eyeing Audi’s success with its A5 coupé and A5 Sportback models and BMW’s strong-selling 4 Series range.
It’s also possible to imagine a five-door Giulia coupé, especially as sales of the A5 Sportback were a stunning 67,700 in 2017.
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Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio review
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The proof of a comeback may take a decade or so.
OK, alfas are cool however that's for the slightly monied individual who are going get a brand spanking new one, so let's do a simple test and see how long it takes for the fixtures and fittings to be falling off and the electrics and mechanics to prove themselves over time to ascertain if alfa has any inherent engineering quality. If they pass 10 years in "good general condition" then that will be a good thing. Glad to see them go RWD (again).
Comeback Almost Complete
The new Giulia and Stelvio are world class products, we've had a Giulia Veloce for months, it is well-built, quick and looks great. It would be great if they come up with a '166' replacement and a new Spider in addition to the flagship SUV and Giulia Coupe.
Not sure I get this narrative...
When did they go away exactly? They've come and gone, for sure, but I remember talk of an Alfa renaissance every time a few new models came out. We had the 33, 75 and 164 in the 80s, GTV, Spider and 156 in the 90s and so on and so forth. Each time the pattern is that they bring out something reasonably desirable but also a bit leftfield and not quite conforming to Germanic norms. The press rave about them briefly before deeciding they arent quite as good as the Germans.... mumble mumble... electrics....mumble mumble... perceived build quality, and then they descend into secondhand obscurity.
Will it be different this time? Dont see why. The 156 in its day was a worthy 3 series competitor. The Giulia is likewise... But it'd be a brave private buyer that sinks his cash into one of these on the offchance that after a couple of years the press will still be enthusiastic.
Completely agree. Far more
Completely agree. Far more rational view than HH's. Currently just the same cycle repeating. Its the next couple of models (and how soon they arrive) that will indicate whether anything is going to be different this time. I'd suspect not.