Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has set a clear time frame for Alfa Romeo, DS and Lancia, the three brands that have been brought together under the heading ‘premium’ within the group. Stellantis will release money for these brands over the next 10 years, but a lot has to change during that period.
It is not clear exactly how much money Stellantis is pumping into the three brands, but the period within which they have to turn the tide is in any case clear. Tavares wants to give every brand a chance under a strong CEO. Recently there was a change of guard at Lancia and former Jean-Philippe Imparato exchanged Peugeot for Alfa Romeo. “Under the leadership of a strong CEO, we must give each of our brands an opportunity to define their vision, formulate a strategy and ensure that they can use Stellantis resources to bring their business case to fruition,” quotes Autocar the Stellantis CEO.
Alfa Romeo Tonale Concept
Tavares gives the brands 10 years to develop these strategies and put them into practice. “The CEOs need to be clear about the promise of the brand, the customers, the communication and the objectives,” he says. The emphasis is on the models that the brands want to release in the coming years. According to Tavares, this gives each brand the opportunity to do something different and thus appeal to a specific group of customers. Tavares does not yet attach any negative consequences to the term, but it is obvious that Stellantis will scrap brands if they are not successful within 10 years.
Current state of affairs
DS currently has the most models of the three brands in its portfolio, including an EV and several plug-in hybrids. Alfa Romeo and Lancia take a different approach. Alfa Romeo currently only has the Giulia and Stelvio in the showroom. Last year, the brand announced the Giulia GTA, but it will not bring large groups of customers to the brand. Alfa Romeo is currently working on two new models: the Tonale and the Brennero. However, the former has already been delayed because CEO Imparato would not be satisfied with the performance of the plug-in hybrid powertrain. Incidentally, Alfa Romeo is pushing its own Giorgio platform to the side.
It remains silent for the time being around Lancia, which only operates on the Italian market. The only model that the brand currently carries is the Ypsilon, which received a subtle facelift at the beginning of this year.