Stellantis is in hassle proper now. Gross sales for all of its American manufacturers are down, and the corporate is on the hunt for a brand new CEO. You get a greater image of issues on the dealership stage. Over at manufacturers like Jeep, sellers are sitting on stock they’ll’t appear to promote. Sellers for Fiat and Alfa Romeo are in even worse form. An ideal instance of that is an Alfa dealership in Northern California that solely has six new autos on the lot.
Despatched to us through tip by a reader (h/t to Antonio Otero!), Alfa Romeo of Marin is positioned in San Rafael, California, close to San Francisco. It’s one among simply three Alfa Romeo dealerships within the Bay Space; the opposite two are in Livermore and San Jose. Not very best when you want service, or when you’re desirous about shopping for a brand new one.
You see, Alfa Romeo of Marin has simply six new autos in its stock. And after I say new, I imply “new,” as simply one among them is a 2024 mannequin. There are two 2022 Giulias, two ‘22 Stelvios, one ‘23 Giulia and a single 2024 Tonale. Why so few autos? Gross sales might have one thing to do with it. Alfa gross sales have been down throughout the board in Q2 of this 12 months. Its prime vendor is the Stelvio with simply 1,866 offered up to now this 12 months, and that’s down 32 p.c from 2023.
I referred to as and spoke with a member of the gross sales crew and was advised that the explanation the seller has so few automobiles is as a result of they merely don’t have the room. The salesperson stated they’re attempting to filter this stock to allow them to get newer automobiles. Nonetheless, after I requested about fashions just like the Tonale, I used to be advised the one within the stock is about to be offered and so they don’t anticipate to get one other one anytime quickly. That conflicts with what I used to be advised about them clearing out the outdated stuff, particularly because the Tonale is Alfa’s freshest providing.
The seller’s fundamental enterprise appears to be supercars, one thing you’ll discover when wanting on the seller’s used automotive stock. It’s each more healthy and prettier than what’s new in inventory, stuffed with automobiles like Lamborghini Huracans, Uruses and Bentley Continentals. The seller may be getting out of the enterprise of promoting the Italian model, and so they’re not alone.
Digging by way of Alfa proprietor boards, I got here throughout a thread from February detailing how the largest Alfa dealership in Northern California, Alfa Romeo of Stevens Creek, despatched out emails to house owners saying they wouldn’t be accepting any extra service appointments. Certain sufficient, when you go searching for the Stevens Creek web site it’s gone, and so they’re additionally listed as closed on Yelp. A couple of house owners within the thread detailed different Alfa sellers in different components of the nation which have closed, like Alfa Romeo of Fort Value, which closed in January. If extra sellers proceed to shut, 1000’s of persons are going to be left questioning what to do when or if their Alfa must be serviced, and it might scare new house owners away from even contemplating the model.
