According to a report in Automotive News that quotes “”people knowledgeable about the matter,”” the next big play in Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne’s prepare for Alfa Romeo is to break it off from Fiat Group Automobiles and set up it up as a separate company within the Fiat empire, creating the same structure as Ferrari and Maserati. A transparent, standalone Alfa Romeo that needs to justify its every move could clearly prove its success from the public financial statements it would have to report, finally achieving Marchionne’s goal of making Alfa Romeo “”a credible business proposition.””,. That’s the concept, say the sources””

That, of course, assumes that Alfa Romeo will make a success than it. The brand hasn’t made a profit in any year of Marchionne’s decade on the helm; sales last year fell to numbers not found in almost half a hundred years and its new product offensive may not include the two vehicles currently responsible for 99 percent of its sales. We’re told the brand’s six new models will begin arriving in 2016 – a roadster, a midsize sedan and large sedan, a compact SUV and big SUV, and a large coupe.

Marchionne aims to expand Alfa’s global appeal in several ways, the first by stressing that they are Italian items that ‘belong’ to Italy. Here is the stance that appears to have put the kibosh on the roadster twinned using the coming Mazda MX-5/Miata. If they take off they’ll help bandage Fiat’s problem with underused plant capacity, a bugbear that is just as problematic culturally and politically as financially, alfa Romeos will all be manufactured in their home country, and. Top-tier trims would use V6 engines produced by Ferrari, and global access would have a boost by selling Alfa Romeos in Jeep’s 1,700 international dealerships.

Some observers suggest Marchionne is preparing Alfa Romeo available for purchase to Volkswagen, which seems a crazy long shot in light of what Marchionne thinks of VW’s business tactics. Still, the rumors won’t die. Harald Wester, presently the CEO of Alfa Romeo and Maserati, would run the standalone company. Detroit, May 6 is where and whenever Marchionne will deliver the information on his want to executives at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and also the finance folks will expect to find out how the highly indebted Fiat plans to pay for the move.