Entrevista ao director de marketing da AR USA:
We sat down with Pieter Hogeveen, head of product marketing and operations for Alfa Romeo, at the 2016 New York auto show to talk about re-establishing the Italian automotive brand in the United States.
AM: How do you feel the relaunch of Alfa Romeo in America has gone so far—good, bad, botched, or better than you could’ve imagined?
PH: I think it’s been better than we could’ve imagined for a couple reasons. This first is that we were able to grow our dealer network to 136 dealers already. Even prior to Giulia launching, we had a sustainable dealer network. Plus if you look at our 4C Spider and Coupe, which are in market today, we do very well with those. We sold over 660 units last year, and total sales are close to 900 units. If you take it to the next level and see what’s happened with Alfa Romeo after we came back, there’s been a lot of talk about the brand. A lot of people are reaching out to us. There’s a lot of excitement and enthusiasm. We continue to get the enthusiasm, and Giulia, which starts production in summer, will be a true testament of how successful we’ll be.
AM: OK, we’ll ask the question in a different way then. Has Alfa’s relaunch been slower than you would’ve liked?
PH: Yeah, than we would’ve liked. Based on feedback we’ve gotten from customers, I wish we had cars sooner because there’s large demand for it. So obviously in a perfect world … but I still think we’re on track, we’re still happy where we’re at, and if you look at our products today we have a lot to be proud of. It took a lot of work from a dedicated team in Italy, a dedicated team in America, and I think we have a lot to be proud of. And I think you see that this [the Giulia] is a vehicle that can compete in the premium segment. We’re going to depend on 100 percent conquest [buyers] for this car, so we better have it right.
AM: Eager customers who are 100 percent conquest—where are they coming from?
PH: Within the premium sedan segment, we see that there isn’t very much loyalty. People switch brands. Like BMW, Audi—we see a lot customers switching from one brand to another. There are also a lot of people entering the segment. There’s a lot of status. People want to be seen driving a premium sedan. A lot of people are tired of what’s out there today. There’ll be a lot of people moving up to the Alfa Romeo brand because it’s new; it’s something to be excited about. And if you want something exciting, it has to come from Italy, the heart of Milan.
AM: Is it fair to compare Quadrifoglio to BMW’s M and Mercedes-AMG, or is the program not as large?
PH: Looking at a horsepower perspective, we’re beating them. The acceleration …
AM: We mean more the actual program of Quadrifoglio, not the specs. Is it akin to BMW’s M and Mercedes-AMG?
PH: Absolutely. Using the Quadrifoglio badge is so historic and bringing a badge like that back can only be if you’re committed to making it work and having a performance line, no question about it.
AM: We’ve seen the growth of BMW’s M Sport. Will Quadrifoglio go that way, or do you see that as a dilution of the brand?
PH: I think we’ll stay true to Quadrifoglio, and a Quadrifoglio will be a Quadrifoglio. It has to meet certain performance requirements, which are best-in-class acceleration and best-in-class braking and things like that. At this point I can’t discuss future product, but we do need to stay true to Quadrifoglio as a true Quadrifoglio. That’s what got us here. For us, it’s how we get our other vehicles to perform the best they can within their competitive set.
AM: Will every Alfa Romeo have a Quadrifoglio model?
PH: I cannot discuss future product, but based on the importance of the Quadrifoglio nameplate, we …
AM: It’s something you’d want to do?
PH: Yeah, if it fits and we can deliver it with the DNA for those cars, I don’t see why not.
AM: Alfa Romeo should go racing, right?
PH: As of now, we have no plans as far I know. I’m a racing enthusiast myself; I would love to be part of that. I mean, look at our history.
AM: While we know you won’t tell us any specifics, can you tell us a bit about the character that all future Alfa Romeos will share?
PH: Let’s take a step back and look at Giulia. In the ’60s, it was a sport sedan with near 50:50 weight distribution. Lightweight, high performance. Look at today’s Giulia, outside of the Quadrifoglio, like the volume model, the Ti, you see a near 50:50 weight distribution. It’s got a 2.0-liter engine with 276 horsepower, zero to 60 in 5.5 seconds, which are both best in class for a four-cylinder engine. I think we’re staying true to our roots, and for future developments Alfa has to stay true to the grille, it’s got to stay true to the heart. That’s why people choose Alfa Romeo—for performance, for exhaust notes, for the driving experience. I think that’s why Modena dedicated a special team just to work on Alfa so there are no distractions.
AM: Give us a more tangible example of how something like the Giulia is the emotional, driver-focused car you say it is.
PH: In the cockpit, for example, the paddle shifters are column-mounted, like a true sports car is. Little things like that will give the true Alfa Romeo feel.
AM: What’s happening with the 4C? Where’s it going from here?
PH: The 4C is very successful right now and draws a lot of attention. We don’t discuss future product, but as of right now, we’re happy with its performance.
AM: Let’s try again—is there room for the 4C to grow or no?
PH: Look at the opportunity that car has. We’re going to have more people coming to the showroom, more people will be shopping Alfa Romeo, and there will be more eyeballs on the 4C. We know it’s a very limited segment, but we’ve positioned the 4C uniquely enough that there will always be a market for a vehicle like that.
AM: Are we going to see a flagship concept soon that gives us some insight into where Alfa is looking to go?
PH: Our priority is focusing on bringing the eight vehicles we’ve promised by 2020 to market.
AM: But you’re an aspirational brand, no? Don’t you want to have something that drops jaws and lets us peek into your thoughts a bit?
PH: We’re trying to be aspirational in the vehicle segments. I think we’re very clear about what we want to do at Alfa Romeo. We want to build driver-centric vehicles that offer performance and stay true to Alfa Romeo, which has always been about balancing power and good handling. No matter what segment you compete in, you need to make sure you can translate that to everyone in the cabin. The driving experience in a 4C is different from the driving experience in a Giulia, but still you will know you’re driving an Alfa Romeo.
AM: Remind us again what will be seeing in the next year from Alfa.
PH: The second-largest segment in the premium industry is your midsize CUV segment, and that will be our newest entry. We’ll have a midsize CUV come out the first quarter of 2017, so very, very quick. We realigned our [five-year] program, that’s what happened, but we’re still committed to having eight models here by 2020.
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