FCA’s merger with the PSA Group takes Alfa Romeo off the back foot and onto the front foot in an instant when it comes to electrification.
For years too ponderous not just on new tech but even on making a comprehensive model line-up (Ferrari has a broader offering today), Alfa Romeo now finds itself in the hands of people who understand not just zero tailpipe emissions propulsion, but is also adept at brand management.
When General Motors sold Vauxhall and Opel to PSA, it gave PSA the option of taking a replacement Vauxhall Corsa, the engineering of which was all-but finished, and paying a licence fee to GM for each one it carried on building.
Instead, PSA tasked Opel's engineers with putting together a new Corsa from scratch in just two years - including a full EV version of the kind that wasn’t even in GM’s thinking.
You can imagine PSA putting that kind of impetus into Alfa Romeo now, then: having a clear vision and asking for results. When Alfa Romeo gets things right, as it has done with the Alfa Romeo Giulia, it can get things really right. It just hasn’t done so often enough recently.
When it is on form, a terrific engine is usually involved. It'll have to find a way now, though, to be on top form while having some kind of electrical assistance too. Peugeot has shown with its 508 PSE concept that it’s possible to do electrification as well as performance. But there’s no better brand in the PSA group to demonstrate that it's possible than Alfa Romeo.
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Terrific engines? All
Terrific engines? All irrelevant in electric wonderland...
but where are the great cars?
Tavares is undoubtedly a great businessman with clear vision and focus and you can see that in the fleetness of foot in terms of new and relevant products coming from Citroen, DS (arguably), Peugeot and Vauxhall/Opel. However....which car from those 5 brands is actually a class leader? The 508 probably. But I don't think that there are any others. So while this partnership may be good for FCA because we will finally get some actual new cars, instead of ever-changing plans that lead to not very much. My fear is that the cars we do get will be a bit pointless if they don't offer anything better than what already exists on the market. I hold out hope for the Fiat Centoventi which is truly innovative like the original Panda. But if we just get a mediocre car on a 208 platform with the tiniest veneer of Italian flair....what really would be the point?
Dealers
The thing that has always let Alfa Romeo down is the low number and indifferent standard of their dealers. Maybe a move to on-line sales might solve this problem?