With a net profit of 8 billion euros in the first half and an operating margin of 14%, it is an understatement to say that Stellantis is doing well. However, there is one area where the group formed in 2021 by the merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA is showing poor performance: the premium segment.
Within the group, Alfa Romeo and DS are responsible for squaring the field and carrying the manufacturer’s ambitions in this particularly profitable market. Everything opposes them. This is a good thing, because, within a set of fourteen brands, it is better to cultivate complementarities than redundancies. The Italian car industry owes a lot to Alfa Romeo, an expression for more than a century of transalpine automotive brilliance, with elegant and sporty cars. A recent creation, DS, which became an entity in its own right in 2014 after being separated from Citroën, wants, for its part, to embody “ the French know-how of luxury in the automobile ».
Sportiness on one side, refinement on the other… These two manufacturers have one thing in common: their sales are not taking off. Alfa Romeo and DS offer pretty cars that sell poorly. In Europe, they do not exceed 0.5% market share, which is low, even for a “premium” signature.
Alfa Romeo enjoys an undeniable aura, but is paying for the legacy of the Fiat years, characterized by chronic underinvestment. Its range, which only had two models (the Giulia, a sedan that is very exciting to drive but aging, and the Stelvio, an SUV that is too expensive to impose itself), has just been enriched with the Tonale, a medium-sized SUV ( from 35,400 euros).
« Phase de reconstruction »
What lay the foundations for yet another revival and improve a European market share (0.3%) divided by three in twenty years? Not sure. Habitable, carefully designed and benefiting from quality interior trim, the Tonale is disappointing. Its light hybridization engine (a small 48-volt electric motor nestled in the gearbox) displays excessive consumption levels and delivers insufficient performance. The upcoming arrival of a rechargeable hybrid should not change the situation.
“We are currently in a reconstruction phase, but the machine is launched”argues Jean-Philippe Imparato, CEO of Alfa Romeo, in an interview with automotive journal. The former boss of Peugeot talks about“a plan produced over ten years, validated and financed”which will make it possible to multiply the launches, in order to “to have a 100% electric range from 2027”.
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