LONDON Fiat's chief executive confirmed in an interview that Alfa Romeo will begin selling cars in the U.S. next year and building them in North America by 2012.
Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne told London's Financial Times in an interview that Alfa Romeo would begin selling cars in the U.S. next year. Though he didn't say so specifically, among the first cars is likely to be the newly introduced 8C Spider. Initially, Fiat will export Alfa Romeo cars from Italy to the U.S. and absorb the losses caused by the weak U.S. dollar versus the Euro.
However, Marchionne told the newspaper that Fiat was shopping for a partner to produce vehicles in North America by 2011 or 2012 to avoid the currency issue. Marchionne hinted that Fiat was talking with Detroit automakers, which have plenty of excess capacity, about a production agreement. At the Geneva auto show, Luca De Meo, who heads Alfa Romeo, told Reuters news service in an interview that Mexico is being considered as a North American production base.
Marchionne also hinted to the Financial Times that Fiat could sell other cars besides Alfa Romeos in the U.S. He said the Fiat 500, named European Car of the Year in 2007, could be among them. "We need to replicate the Mini phenomenon in the U.S., he told the paper.
Alfa Romeo last sold cars in the U.S. in 1996 when it sold a scant 400 for the year.
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