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For Alfa Romeo,
the Frankfurt Motor Show this year is all about the new Alfa 159
sedan, and CEO
Karl-Heinz Kalbfell was in very positive mood during this
morning's press conference.
Four different
specification Alfa Romeo 159 models are splayed out across
the middle of Alfa Romeo's, long stand at the Frankfurt IAA,
beneath a huge sign that reads: "159. The new breed of
Alfa". A simplistic, forceful message that spells out in no
uncertain terms that this is a car that has to be considered
as a genuine rival in its segment, an real alternative to
the establishment favourites such as the BMW 3-series and
the Audi A4.
Alfa Romeo's
CEO, Karl-Heinz Kalbfell, who seems to have quickly gained a
strong affinity for the brand, despite being in the hot seat
for less than a year, and is clearly a man in a hurry to get
Alfa Romeo back where they belong, building stylish,
luxurious and highly sporty cars. His forceful message this
morning was upbeat and purposeful, and clearly he is
relishing the task of rebuilding Alfa Romeo.
Being German,
and speaking to an audience at Germany's most important motor show, his focus was
naturally on the local new
car market, which is the biggest in Europe. Kalbfell wants Alfa Romeo
to quickly regain ground lost in recent years here, and is
immediately targeting getting
sales "back above 20,000 mark" annually. He accepted that much
still needs to be done within the supply chain at Alfa Romeo
and so he is working hard to improve the customer interface
at dealer level, and to strengthen the management structures
down to this level. Notables joining Kalbfell on stage
during the press conference included the Fiat Chairman, Luca
di Montezemolo, - who praised the Alfa 159 - and the new
car's designer, Italian style master, Giorgetto Giugiaro.
Confident about
the ability of the Alfa 159 sedan, Fiat's 'sporty' brand are
now putting their money where their mouth is and offering all
inclusive three year warrantees with all new purchases, a
package that includes consumables. With
competitive pricing for Italy having just been announced,
the stage is now set for this car to be a winner with the European motorists.
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