Alfa Romeo unveils make-or-break saloon

Alfa Romeo unveiled its new premium family saloon in Milan last night, a car that will spearhead a make-or-break turnaround strategy for the Italian brand.

The Giulia is pitched to take on the likes of the Audi A4 and BMW 3- Series, and is the first of eight new models due to be launched over the next three years in a €5 billion investment in the brand.

Poor reliability

Owned by Fiat-Chrysler Group (FCA), Alfa has been in a tailspin in recent years, dogged by perceptions of poor reliability and quality, while losing out to the powerful German rivals such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

The lack of new models in key market segments hasn’t helped either. Global sales peaked in 2001 at 217,000 in the era of its popular 156 saloon, but registrations fell to as low as 68,000 last year.

Serenaded on stage by tenor Andrea Bocelli, the Giulia is meant to change all that. FCA hopes to achieve annual sales of 400,000 by 2018, a figure few analysts believe realistic.

Demand more

The new Giulia may well win favour with its looks and driving ability but customers are likely to demand more before they purchase. A vastly improved dealer network and reassurances on reliability are needed to rebuild the brand.

Alfa Romeo chief executive Harald Wester – in a clear swipe at German rivals – promised the Alfa range would cast off the "cold" and "technocratic" trends in the premium market, a sector he said was dominated by "zero emotion".

Alfa executives hope to lure buyers with the brand’s heritage and a perceived consumer desire for an alternative to the German brands. The heritage link was strongly in evidence at the Giulia launch, which took place in the re-opened museum to Alfa Romeo in Milan. Nostalgia for the brand, however, only really chimes with the baby boomer generation, now in their 60s.

* This article was edited on June 25th 2015