MILAN — Alfa Romeo’s new CEO, Jean-Philippe Imparato, stated his ardour for the Italian sports-car model led him to simply accept what might be the hardest position of his profession.
Imparato, a veteran of PSA Group, was chosen to lead Alfa’s Romeo’s latest turnaround by Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares in January after Alfa proprietor Fiat Chrysler Cars merged with PSA.
The French government stated he had no downside in switching from the a lot bigger Peugeot model, which he had led efficiently, to the identical position in Alfa Romeo, an organization that has gone via quite a few failed turnarounds. The model at the moment faces steeply slumping gross sales and a delay in launching its essential compact SUV.
At Peugeot, Imparato was in cost of some thousand staff. At Alfa he stated he has “a really agile group of 49 folks.”
“It is like a start-up, we will take choices in 5 minutes,” Imparato instructed journalists throughout in a media roundtable on April 19.
His transfer from France to Italy was not pushed by profession ambitions. “If you end up head of the Peugeot model, which brings in billions of euros per yr, you do not go to Alfa for profession causes. You do it for private causes, you are pushed by ardour, and by household causes,” he stated.
The household causes are ancestral ties with Italy. His grandfather moved from the small coastal city of Gaeta in central Italy to France in 1904.
And his household has longtime bonds to Alfa. “Once I was born, my father was driving a blue Giulia 1300, then he switched to a bigger Alfetta 2000. My spouse’s first automotive was an Alfasud,” Imparato stated.
Over the previous 5 years Alfa has been led by American executives working from Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills, first Reid Bigland, then Tim Kuniskis. These executives additionally had different key roles in FCA.
Imparato stated it is necessary that the model is managed from Italy. He has reorganized the brand’s global leadership and stated his new government group is “almost 100% Italian.”
Imparato can be bringing Stellantis CEO Tavares’ thrifty mantra to Alfa. The model’s new international head workplace inside the previous Fiat Centro Stile (Styling Heart) in Turin covers simply 200 sq. meters, not a lot greater than a singles tennis courtroom.
“We’re frugal, and we’re cautious with each euro we spend,” Imparato stated.
That is line with the philosophy of Tavares, who turned PSA from a near-bankrupt firm to one in every of Europe’s most worthwhile automakers. Tavares inform his executives to spend firm cash in the identical cautious method they’d with their very own cash.
Frugality can be a key pillar for Alfa Romeo’s relaunch. “The primary components that we’re trying are profitability, product high quality and a strong product plan,” Imparato stated.
Presently Alfa solely sells two fashions, the Giulia midsize sedan and Stelvio midsize SUV. The model’s subsequent mannequin, the Tonale SUV positioned beneath the Stelvio, is a key launch as a result of the marketplace for such automobiles is booming the world over.
Imparato stated that he requested his group to enhance the efficiency of the plug-in hybrid model of the Tonale, which have to be obtainable on the SUV’s launch. This pushed again the gross sales introduction by three months. It should now go on sale in June 2022, he stated.
A smaller SUV positioned beneath the Tonale will launch in 2023. Will probably be constructed alongside Jeep and Fiat versions in Tychy, Poland.
Imparato stated Alfa’s issues weren’t attributable to its lineup. “Our present two fashions are improbable,” he stated.
He declined to debate additional product bulletins, besides to say that the model ought to solely enter segments the place it may make the proper volumes and the proper earnings. “Each funding should carry a optimistic return,” he stated.
Alfa is engaged on a brand new 5-year plan, which can be introduced as soon as it’s accepted and financed by Stellantis, and on a longer-term one, taking a look at a 10-year time span. In contrast to his predecessors, Imparato won’t disclose the 5-year plan in full.
“I can’t make guarantees I can not fulfill. On the finish of every yr we are going to unveil the next yr’s program,” he stated.
One other break with the previous is that no quantity goal for Alfa can be disclosed publicly. That is in keeping with the apply at PSA.
Former FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne unveiled a number of plans to boost Alfa’s annual gross sales to 400,000 or extra automobiles.
The model’s gross sales peaked at 233,000 models within the late Eighties, however manufacturing dropped to lower than 60,000 in 2019 and 2020, based on union sources. FCA doesn’t disclose international gross sales figures by model. Gross sales will fall additional this yr, after the Giulietta compact hatchback was discontinued in late 2020.
“I can’t shoot for 400,000 as a result of I am not . We clearly have some quantity forecast, however we won’t reveal them as a result of it is not our principal aim,” Imparato stated.
His new group will give attention to margins per unit and pricing energy.
Imparato goals to take Alfa to the value stage of its German premium rivals, plus or minus 1 p.c. “To attain this, it’s important to compete on complete price of possession, which is affected by residual worth and CO2 emissions,” he stated.
Imparato was positively stunned by the extent of Alfa model consciousness all over the world. The marque has the potential to be the worldwide premium model of Stellantis as a result of it enjoys lots of model recognition not simply in Europe, but additionally within the U.S. and in China, he stated.
He believes the standard of Alfa’s present automobiles is already on par with the German rivals. His process is to persuade the market that the residual worth of these automobiles after 60,000 km or 90,000 km is akin to that of German rivals equivalent to BMW.
“I need our residual values to shut the hole with our rivals in 3 to 4 years,” Imparato stated.
To attain that aim, Alfa should not promote its automobiles “on a budget,” he stated. “I do not wish to see zero-kilometers [self-registrations by the automaker or its dealers] all over the place, nor import/export maneuvers.”
Alfa will goal a world channel mixture of 45 p.c personal clients, 45 p.c related fleets, and a most of 10 p.c in direct gross sales and gross sales in different channels. “Our industrial technique should goal to have 60 p.c to 80 p.c of automobiles built-to-order, to maintain our shares to a lean stage,” Imparato stated.
Design can be a key component in making Alfa’s automobiles extra engaging. “Alfas ought to evoke a visceral response. You see it, you purchase it,” he stated.
“Once you entered an Alfa 1750 GT [1960s coupe], the cockpit instructed you have been sitting in an Alfa. I wish to reinterpret for the longer term the model language of the previous,” he stated.
Imparato has employed former Renault and Seat government Alejandro Mesonero–Romanos as Alfa’s new design chief, according to ANE sources. Imparato didn’t touch upon the matter.
Luca Ciferri contributed to this report