With its entry into the Stellantis empire, Alfa Romeo is getting new management, new models, and a new strategy for taking on the challenging U.S. market.
That’s according to the brand’s new head, Jean-Philippe Imparato. The Frenchman ran Peugeot until the Stellantis merger and has since been working hard, forming a team for Alfa. Filling the company with Italian executives, 40% of whom are women, the team will have the tall task of sparking new interest in the historic brand.
Although sales have grown 25% in the first quarter of 2021, Alfa still lags behind almost every other luxury automaker in the U.S. The Italian marque leads only Jaguar in terms of market share, per Automotive News.
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MILAN Alfa Romeo, the premium Italian line with a racing heritage, must do better in the crucial U.S. market, the CEO of the brand said.
Frenchman Jean-Philippe Imparato ran the Peugeot brand for PSA until the merger with Fiat Chrysler formed Stellantis on Jan. 16, when he was put over Alfa Romeo. He has assembled a mostly Italian leadership team and has American industry veteran Larry Dominique, who had been plotting Peugeot s return to the U.S., in charge of North America.
Alfa Romeo’s New U.S. Chief Wants Dealers to Dive Into Digital “I learned people are willing to shop digitally, but now they are expecting an experience,” says automotive veteran Larry Dominique.
For the last few years as Groupe PSA’s point man in the U.S., Larry Dominique had publicly spoken of the impending return of the French automaker’s flagship Peugeot brand to America after about a 30-year absence.
Dominique always avoided saying exactly when that reappearance would occur. But he outlined how prospective Peugeot dealers would stock and sell vehicles in a streamlined way, relying heavily on digital tools.
Peugeot exited the U.S. in 1991 after being surpassed by Japanese rivals. The brand's 3,500 sales over the course of a calendar year weren’t enough to break even. Despite this woeful result, the Sochaux-based automaker made it clear that Peugeot would return stateside in 2023 with better products.