Report: Alfa Romeo Giulia Delayed Due to Failing Internal Crash Tests

A new report has revealed a new reason why the Alfa’s sports sedan is months behind schedule. According to supplier sources that spoke with Automotive News Europe, the Giulia has failed to pass internal front, side, and rear crash tests, which has led to extensive re-engineering of the car and has added six months to the development time. We reported earlier that the Alfa Romeo Giulia has been delayed and won’t launch until mid-2016 in Europe due to the automaker tweaking the car’s ride characteristics and safety features

Former Ferrari chief engineer Roberto Fedeli also returns to FCA as chief technical officer for both Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Fedeli spent 26 years at Ferrari where he helped develop the LaFerrari hypercar and then moved to the BMW Group in 2014 where he worked for 16 months before coming back to FCA. In his new role, Fedeli will be responsible for fixing the mounting technical problems that have caused new cars such as the Alfa Romeo Giulia and the Maserati Levante to run behind schedule.

FCA’s revised 2016 business plan, which was shown a week ago at its annual Investor Day, revealed that Alfa Romeo’s rollout plan has been pushed back to 2020. Additionally, the business plan now has North America and Europe as the main target markets for Alfa Romeo, not China.  After the Giulia, a crossover will be the next vehicle Alfa will add but that has also been delayed due to the sedan being behind schedule.

Source: Automotive News Europe (Subscription required)

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