It’s not all smooth sailing for the Alfa Romeo brand’s ambitious plans for growth, as a report from Automotive News suggests that a few upcoming models have been delayed. The launch dates for the Giulia sedan and the unnamed Alfa SUV are reportedly being pushed back by a six to nine months.
The high-performance Quadrifoglio version of the Alfa Romeo Giulia (pictured) was set to arrive later this year, but refinements to the car’s chassis and safety systems have supposedly delayed the car’s European launch until mid-2016. This means that the mainstream Giulia models, originally intended to launch by next spring, will be delayed until late 2016. The Giulia-based Alfa Romeo SUV, which was previously targeted for a spring 2016 debut, may not be ready until the beginning of 2017.
We’ll have to wait even longer in the U.S. for these Alfa Romeo models to arrive, as the company had planned to start selling the cars in America a few months later than their European launches. These delays will make it difficult for Alfa Romeo to reach its goal of selling 400,000 cars globally by 2018. The only Alfa Romeo model that’s currently sold in the U.S. is the low-volume Alfa Romeo 4C sports car, which has racked up just 562 sales so far this year.
Stay tuned for updates as we learn more about Alfa Romeo’s new model rollout.
