Mesonero strengthens the top management team that new Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato is putting together to try to reverse the declining fortunes of the sporty premium brand.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has tasked Imparato, who had a successful run as Peugeot CEO, with reviving Alfa Romeo sales and developing new joint models for the Alfa, DS and Lancia brands.
Mesonero joins Alfa with two new models already approved for production: the Tonale compact crossover, whose launch has been delayed to early 2022 by Imparato, and a small crossover due a year later to be called the Brennero.
This means the first Alfas designed by Mesonero aren’t likely to appear until mid-2023.
Alfa’s product lineup has shrunk to just two models, the Stelvio midsize crossover and Giulia midsize sedan, and its vehicle sales have slumped in its two biggest markets, Europe and the U.S.
The brand has not released annual global sales figures, but the FIM-CISL Italian union says production of the Stelvio, Giulia and the Giulietta sedan, which was discontinued in late 2020, fell 9 percent to 53,422 units last year.
In Europe, Alfa’s vehicle sales last year declined by a third to 35,503 units, of which 17,332 were Stelvios and 10,747 were Giulias, according to JATO Dynamics. In the U.S., Alfa’s sales increased 1.6 percent to 18,586 units last year, according to data from the Automotive News Data Center.
