Top Fiat dealerships first to get 2014 Alfa Romeo 4C

Chrysler Group parent company Fiat SpA plans to build 2,500 examples of the sporty Alfa Romeo 4C each year with 1,000 of those intended for sale in the United States. While speaking with Automotive News, Chrysler Group vice president for network development Peter Grady explained that the first Alfa Romeo 4C sports cars will arrive by the end of the 2013 calendar year and those Fiat dealerships with the highest sales volumes and the highest customer satisfaction scores. In short, if you are a Fiat dealership that sells lots of cars to lots of people and those people continue to be happy with their purchases as time goes on – your dealership could be among the first to feature the Alfa 4C later this year.

While the Fiat 500 that is current available in dealerships is a very different vehicle from the upcoming 2014 Alfa Romeo 4C, those markets where the compact Fiat is popular will likely also have more prospective buyers for the new Alfa. Part of the early push to sell the Fiat 500 was the Italian-American connection and the new 4C will likely appeal to many of those same enthusiasts who were quick to grab a new Fiat when they hit US dealerships.

One of the sticking points for some Fiat dealerships who hope to also sell the Alfa Romeo 4C is that the Chrysler Group and Fiat SpA are requiring that those dealers selling the Alfa sports car have an attached service area. This has been something that the company has stated since they first began discussing the rebirth of the Alfa Romeo brand in the US so it doesn’t come as a surprise but it does serve as a sticking point for some dealerships. While many dealers around the Detroit area have the square footage to either designate a special Fiat/Alfa service area or to build a new area for that purpose, some dealerships are in strip mall type locations (especially in large cities) where it is simply impossible to add on to their current square footage. Luckily, Grady told Automotive News that the company is willing to work with those dealerships who are in a situation where they cannot expand – which comes as great news for those popular inner city Fiat dealerships who would otherwise meet all of the company’s requirements to sell the new Alfa.

When Fiat dealerships first began opening a couple years back, the owners were expected to have an entirely free standing dealership experience that was separate of their current Chrysler Group dealership layout. Based on that, a great many of the top selling Fiat dealerships in the country’s spread of roughly 202 currently in business are already prepared to begin selling and servicing the Alfa Romeo 4C. Many of those dealerships who made large investments to build a free standing Fiat branch have been hoping for new models to freshen up their Italian dealerships and the Alfa 4C will provide a stark contrast to the compact Fiat 500.

Early on, Fiat dealerships were having a tough time making ends meet since they were literally only selling a single car (the Fiat 500 coupe) but with the addition of the Fiat 500 Convertible and the high performance Fiat 500 Abarth – business has steadily increased for many shops. The upcoming Fiat 500L and the electric 500e will further expand the Fiat lineup later this year and the addition of the new Alfa Romeo 4C will bring a much higher end, performance driving crowd into dealerships around the country.

Source: Automotive News