Alfa Romeo Makes Huge Changes To Its 2022 Model Year Lineup!

Alfa Romeo Makes Huge Changes To Its 2022 Model Year Lineup!​

A New Marketing Strategy Leads To More Standard Content, Less Options, And Global Standardization...​

Thanks to our dealer connections, we are now learning more about the 2022 Alfa Romeo lineup and the changes the brand is making for its Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV for the U.S. marketplace. According to our source, Alfa Romeo has begun a new simplified lineup marketing strategy for 2022, this consists of realigning the lineup to focus on the fastest-turning packages, and price positioning on higher trims. So what does that mean to the customer?

Alfa Romeo Makes Huge Changes To Its 2022 Model Year Lineup!

Thanks to our dealer connections, we are now learning more about the 2022 Alfa Romeo lineup and the changes the brand is making for its Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV for the U.S. marketplace. According to our source, Alfa Romeo has begun a new simplified lineup marketing strategy for 2022, this...

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[Deckard Cain]

Those seem like quite reasonable adjustments and to be expected at such a late stage of the product cycle.

 

[bill burke]

Alfa Romeo was given a tough assignment, compete right out of the starting gate with some of the best imports on the market, with a large and loyal customer base and well established dealer network and status imagery that is hard to penetrate with a tiny budget and lofty, unrealistic expectations and people judge them against that standard as if it were a level playing field. Seriously! AR is selling, based on my personal head count, exceptionally well, impressively so here on Long Island, but given all that, criticism and doom and gloom too often is part of the brands accessment. That Stelvio is an outstanding product and pretty popular and these updates will make it more so, I bet. More product, more dealerships delinked from Fiat and a larger marketing budget should really put the brand in the mix of things in North America. It takes time, product and money. Having done so well, so far, only speaks to better days. Good job Alfa Romeo.

 

[Deckard Cain]

Something that many C-suites don't understand in Western countries, since they're formatted to think trimester to trimester, is that (re-)launching a brand is a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[Wes]

The Giulia has a Nissan look profile.

 

[Cash_Knightly]

If they bring back the Carbon Brakes I'm in! Seriously disappointed that they removed that option for the 2021 Giulia Quadrifoglio. But I like the symmetry between Euro and Western specs.

 

[John Ireland]

Those seem like quite reasonable adjustments and to be expected at such a late stage of the product cycle.

Alfa cutting back on options is a retreat from the market, pure and simple. They did a lousy job introducing the car, a lousy job with their dealer selections, a lousy job with their advertising (or lack of it) in the American market, and now they are trying to cut costs. They threw Giulia models and options on the wall like spaghetti...and very little of it seemed to stick. Worst of all, they completely ignored the tens of thousands of long-term Alfa Romeo enthusiasts in the USA. The very people who could have been putting Giulias on the streets, in front of peoples eyes, putting out word-of-mouth about Alfa, was overlooked entirely. Why didn't they buy them? The dealers were pricing them out of reach, pricing them as if they were Audis and Mercedes. In the 30 years since Alfa left the American market in the early 1990s, the Alfa owners grew older...and there were no new models to attract younger buyers. The true fans, the Alfa owners, would have snatched up a new Alfa at thirty-two or thirty-three thousand...but not at forty-five to fifty thousand. The expensive options could have been offered later, once demand was established. Now, five years after that Giulia's introduction, there have been no significant upgrades. And Alfa talks about trimming back. Even Alfa enthusiasts can smell failure and retreat. Will the French save Alfa, or just use it as a place marker until the new Peugeots arrive?

I'm sorry to sound so harsh, but this is what Alfa needs to hear...not backslapping hollow praise. I bought my first Alfa in 1977...an Alfetta Sport Sedan. I loved it...it was my daily driver and my track car for seven years. And it was easy to maintain and service even though the dealers were the weak link in the American Market. I've owned ten other Alfas since then, including two vintage race cars and two of the new Giulias. The cars have all been great, and the organizations selling them in the USA have all been disasters. The owners of Alfa, the company, still don't understand the owners of Alfa the car. Until that changes, things will only get worse.

 

[Deckard Cain]

I agree with you in everything except pricing. I don't believe that launching a product with low prices does anything to attract new buyers, or the kind of buyers you want for the brand in the medium term.
But bar that, the execution of re-introducing Alfa was a disaster and that's why I am wiling to see what Stellantis will do with the brand in the future. Marchionne completely mis-managed Alfa during his tenure ahead of FCA.

 

[John Ireland]

I agree with you in everything except pricing. I don't believe that launching a product with low prices does anything to attract new buyers, or the kind of buyers you want for the brand in the medium term.
But bar that, the execution of re-introducing Alfa was a disaster and that's why I am wiling to see what Stellantis will do with the brand in the future. Marchionne completely mis-managed Alfa during his tenure ahead of FCA.

It wouldn't have attracted new buyers, it would have attracted older Alfa buyers who haven't had a new model for 30 years...and that would mean an instant sales success in the first two years of the Giulia. Many of those former Alfa owners and AROC members are retired seniors who found that a $50,000 Alfa was a bit too much sticker shock...but who would have jumped on a $33k to $35k Giulia. They didn't need all the over optioned models...just a base model with a few serious options just as the performance package and maybe 18" rims...but that would have been it. They didn't care about back up cameras and lane departure warnings and frontal collision warning systems and double moon roofs and already obsolete navigation systems. They wanted a driver's car, not a dealer's profit center. And Alfa needed to get cars out of the showroom and on the road...which they totally failed to do in the first three model years. Every single generation of Alfa management has screwed up introducing models to the USA market.

 

[Deckard Cain]

I know what you mean, but Alfa needs to launch a poduct not only for purists, which even by your own admission aren't many, but for people new to the brand.
Also the Giulia is a global product, with most of its sales actually happening in Europe. Electronic systems are a safety requirement (even if soft, a new car would get trashed if it didn't got 5 stars in the EURONCAP tests).

Also, if 50k is too much of a sticker shock for Alfa purists, then they simply aren't the target audience for the Giulia.

 

[Tony K]

Also, if 50k is too much of a sticker shock for Alfa purists, then they simply aren't the target audience for the Giulia.

THIS!!! If you're over 50 and in the market for an Italian "Mid-life Crisis-mobile" a hot coupe at $50,000 shouldn't be a stretch...especially when guys are buying Dodges for as much.

NB. I half-jokingly refer to my sub-$40k Challenger R/T I bought 10 years ago as my "Mid-life Crisis-mobile."

 

[John Ireland]

I'm just saying that Alfa's attempt to find people new to the marque was a failure. They had early 2017 models still sitting at the dealership as the 2019 models started arriving. Now Alfa club members are slowly starting to buy, but used models in the mid $25k range. And why not, its the same car as the new one. No upgrades in 5 years. The used Giulia market is flooded with cars, and they sit unsold for months. If Alfa is trying to break into the US market and attract people new to the Marque, it is the best kept secret in America. Back in 1980, Alfa had a West Coast Distributor, they lobbied the main Alfa Distributor in New Jersey to let them do their own advertising. I was one of the groups that made presentations to them. They were receptive because they saw something they weren't getting from New Jersey...an America approach to an Italian car that wasn't just old black and white movies of Tazio Nuvolari. But New Jersey choked and shut the project down...they were too afraid to risk success when they had come up with alibis for their failure. It was the same with their dealer networks back then. It was easier to blame "stupid Americans" who didn't know how to drive Italian machines, than to admit that their dealer network sucked because they had tried to introduce Alfa to America on the cheap. I speak harshly because Alfa needs to hear this.

 

[Deckard Cain]

I'm just saying that Alfa's attempt to find people new to the marque was a failure. They had early 2017 models still sitting at the dealership as the 2019 models started arriving. Now Alfa club members are slowly starting to buy, but used models in the mid $25k range. And why not, its the same car as the new one. No upgrades in 5 years. The used Giulia market is flooded with cars, and they sit unsold for months. If Alfa is trying to break into the US market and attract people new to the Marque, it is the best kept secret in America. Back in 1980, Alfa had a West Coast Distributor, they lobbied the main Alfa Distributor in New Jersey to let them do their own advertising. I was one of the groups that made presentations to them. They were receptive because they saw something they weren't getting from New Jersey...an America approach to an Italian car that wasn't just old black and white movies of Tazio Nuvolari. But New Jersey choked and shut the project down...they were too afraid to risk success when they had come up with alibis for their failure. It was the same with their dealer networks back then. It was easier to blame "stupid Americans" who didn't know how to drive Italian machines, than to admit that their dealer network sucked because they had tried to introduce Alfa to America on the cheap. I speak harshly because Alfa needs to hear this.

They really did botch the launch of Alfa in the US, you won't see me disagreeing with you there. And they witheld planned investments for the Giulia.
The consequences of that are visible to all of us, and just as you mentioned: barely any upgrades in 5 years (there were some in electronic systems and the infotainment system).

 

[John Ireland]

They really did botch the launch of Alfa in the US, you won't see me disagreeing with you there. And they witheld planned investments for the Giulia.
The consequences of that are visible to all of us, and just as you mentioned: barely any upgrades in 5 years (there were some in electronic systems and the infotainment system).

My concern and question is...what are Alfa's new owners going to do about this? The last time Peugeot/Citroen bought an Italian car company they all but destroyed Maserati, and they were going to sell the company off for parts. At least De Tomaso stepped up and made a real effort to resurrect the name and the brand. That it exists today is the direct result of his efforts. Just as 90% of the Swiss watch industry was destroyed by the Japanese quartz watches, I fear that Alfa will die as the ICE dies. Sadly, the best reason to buy or lease an Alfa Giulia is because they may be the last real Alfas every made. I'm going to keep driving mine until one of us goes first.

 

[Bili]

My concern and question is...what are Alfa's new owners going to do about this? The last time Peugeot/Citroen bought an Italian car company they all but destroyed Maserati, and they were going to sell the company off for parts. At least De Tomaso stepped up and made a real effort to resurrect the name and the brand. That it exists today is the direct result of his efforts. Just as 90% of the Swiss watch industry was destroyed by the Japanese quartz watches, I fear that Alfa will die as the ICE dies. Sadly, the best reason to buy or lease an Alfa Giulia is because they may be the last real Alfas every made. I'm going to keep driving mine until one of us goes first.

What French car philosophy in general lacks is view towards premium car market and performance cars. I got shivers when I've heard that Alfa Romeo got into French hands. Fortunately Maserati is still in FCA's sphere.

Premium cars as term which is used in Europe and the whole world with exception of North America. Premium is called luxury in US. For us in Europe luxury is something else... Else like Maserati.

The one thing which late Sergio got right is paring of Alfa Romeo and Maserati in terms of R&D. It was already broken by MMM.

 

[Deckard Cain]

My concern and question is...what are Alfa's new owners going to do about this? The last time Peugeot/Citroen bought an Italian car company they all but destroyed Maserati, and they were going to sell the company off for parts. At least De Tomaso stepped up and made a real effort to resurrect the name and the brand. That it exists today is the direct result of his efforts. Just as 90% of the Swiss watch industry was destroyed by the Japanese quartz watches, I fear that Alfa will die as the ICE dies. Sadly, the best reason to buy or lease an Alfa Giulia is because they may be the last real Alfas every made. I'm going to keep driving mine until one of us goes first.

Your concern is very well founded. But considering the shameful state that Alfa was already in, I find it really hard to throw the blame to Peugeot/Citroen.
Marchionne and the Agnelli simply didn't give a **** about the brand from 2008 forward. If the brand fails under Stellantis the blame is on them.