Detroit — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is recruiting U.S. dealers to sell its Alfa Romeo models, a major step forward in reintroducing the sports car to American buyers, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The company thus far signed 82 dealers in the U.S. and four in Canada to market the brand, Fiat Chrysler said on Tuesday. A new two-seater sports car, called the 4C, arrives this year. The auto maker plans to sell about 1,000 a year in the U.S.
After that, dealers will have to wait another two years to get the rest of the lineup, which will include a large sedan and a sport-utility vehicle that would debut between 2016 and 2018, according to a five-year plan unveiled last month.
"We require each Alfa Romeo dealer to have their sales and technical staff go through an intensive curriculum to ensure the highest levels of customer care and proficiency of the Alfa Romeo 4C," said Peter Grady, head of dealer network development for Chrysler Group LLC, a unit of Fiat Chrysler.
For years, Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has pledged Alfa Romeo's return to the U.S., but not until now has he moved forward with plans to sign dealers to represent the brand.
Fiat Chrysler hopes to boost global Alfa Romeo sales fivefold over the next five years, from 74,000 in 2013 to 400,000 by 2018, a goal that some analysts say will be difficult, if not nearly impossible, given the intense competition in the luxury-car market.
Alfa Romeo hasn't been sold in the U.S. since the mid-1990s, but its relaunch here is crucial to the brand's global ambitions.
The company wants Alfa to compete with premium car makers like Volkswagen AG's Audi and BMW AG, which have much deeper pockets and an established foothold in the world's biggest car markets.
Mr. Marchionne has acknowledged the difficulty of hitting the targets he has laid out for Alfa Romeo, but believes the goals are achievable. Fiat Chrysler plans to spend €5 billion ($6.8 billion) over the next five years to overhaul Alfa.
"It's a big number," Mr. Marchionne said at an event in Michigan last month. "That's a lot of money to spend in a relatively short period of time to deliver eight cars. But we're bent on doing it."
Most of the new Alfa dealers already have Fiat franchises. The auto maker had promised them a shot at selling Alfas when the company relaunched its small-car Fiat brand in the U.S. three years ago.
Many of those dealers are now eager to get the new high-priced Alfa Romeo cars to help fill out their Fiat showrooms, which currently only sell two models and struggle to turn a profit.
Some Maserati outlets also were awarded Alfa franchises. The dealers are in 33 states, with the largest concentration of Alfa stores in California, Texas and Florida, it said.
Mr. Grady said Fiat Chrysler hopes to eventually have more than 300 Alfa stores in North America. That number would surpass Audi's current U.S. network of 281 dealerships.
