Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philipe Imparato is confident of the brand model’s quality, but also thinks there is room for improvement.
Alfa Romeo has a new boss, and he has got bold claims about the company. The journey to date hasn’t exactly been a bed of roses for the Italian automaker. The brand’s image is marred by reliability issues and a series of failed ventures. However, the man of the hour, Jean-Philipe Imparato, seeks to change that. He took over the company in quite difficult times, looking to restore the Italian marquee automaker to its former glory.
CEO Jean-Philipe Imparato believes that a company like Alfa Romeo is driven by passion and a love for Italian traditions and cultures. Impressed as he is by Alfa Romeo’s brand presence not just in Europe but also in the US and China, Imparato believes that the company is underrated. Still recovering from the saying, “if you’re quiet enough, you can hear your Alfa Romeo rusting in the garage,” Imparato knows that he needs to fix that image of the company.
It looks as if Alfa Romeo has embarked on a quest for redemption led by Imparato. Irrespective of the popular beliefs or the word in the market, the Alfa Romeo boss claims that the current lineup of cars is quality-wise on the same levels as its German competitors. It came as quite a shock hearing that Alfa’s cars were at par with cars from BMW or Mercedes-Benz in terms of quality. But Imparato refused to budge an inch from his dogma.
A veteran of the PSA group, Jean-Philipe Imparato, has introduced certain changes to take Alfa Romeo back to the top once again. His strategy would mainly focus on areas like profitability, product quality, and a strong product plan. Inspired by Stellantis’s CEO Tavares’ prudent spending plans, Imparato has decided that the company would be extremely cautious with every penny they spend to protect the company from bankruptcy. Also, he has hugely reshuffled his team, which now mainly consists of Italians. Although prone to controversies, Imparato explained that the move was a necessary one because Alfa’s soul, at the end of the day, is Italian.
While Alfa Romeo cars are on par with its German rivals, Imparato believes that there are many areas to work on. His success mantra largely depends on increasing the residual value of Alfa’s cars (to the same level as BMW) and decreasing carbon dioxide emissions. A five-year plan, gilded with frugality, would bring Alfa Romeo back on the tracks, according to Imparato, although he has declined to make any specific commitments.
While the Stelvio and Giulia are the only Alfa Romeo cars on the streets right now, the company had planned to launch a compact SUV dubbed the Tonale. Being extra cautious with the next Alfa Romeo car to hit the markets, Imparato has delayed the SUV launch, asking his team to improve the performance of the PHEV before it arrives in dealerships in June 2022.
Source: Automotive News Europe
