Roberto Testore and Juan José Diaz Ruiz recently invited several hundred European journalists to share the strong and clear message they told their Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia dealers, in what is considered the most important and critical dealers convention ever in the history of the Italian group.

The event took place in Milan through the first two weeks in June. More than 6000 representatives from 2180 dealers (1015 Fiat, 765 Alfa and 400 Lancia dealers) from 25 nations attended the meeting. Most of the media representatives were astonished by the heavy pressure series of working sessions, with a series of top quality multimedia presentations.

Diaz Ruiz spoke of re-establishing the brands, of their turn around, of their re-generation. He spoke of renaissance.

Lancia to offer exclusive luxury cars

Diaz Ruiz and his team in charge of the Lancia brand said that Lancia is ready to compete in, and bank on, the emerging trend in favour of luxury cars with their new Thesis. The new car that replaces the ill-fated Lancia K, is due to be launched late this year as the flagship of a brand with a long lasting tradition that is being re-established.

Lancia wants to be a prestige brand, recognised for its refined style, for its exclusivity and for its outstanding care for details. The new Lancia products will bet on charm, indulgence, technology and comfort and well as aesthetic values.

Asked how will buyers of the small Lancia Y be treated, Michael Robinson, who has directed the design of the Lancia Thesis, said the new Lancia Y (due to reach the market in 2003) would be “a small Thesis”, meaning that it will positively be a luxury small car.

Robinson outlined that the Thesis is the benchmark for all Lancia models, and according to a top-down policy that is perfectly consistent with the characteristics of an elite brand, it has inspired the Lancia Y replacement and all other Lancia to come.

Juan José Diaz Ruiz announced that the MPV due to replace the current Lancia Z will come in 2002 and that in 2003 the renewal of the entire range, due to last four years, will begin.

Lancia executives are not expecting a boom of their sales in term of volume this decade and modestly look for a total volume of 300 thousands sales per annum by the end of year 2008. Forty percent of them would be exported from Italy.

Alfa Romeo is a way of life

The media representatives have been duly pleased with the preview of the new Alfa Romeo 156 GTA and Sportwagon GTA, unveiled at the meeting. That made their day even though they had no access to the interior or the engine compartment.

Moving from the Lancia hall to the Alfa Romeo “theatre” Juan José Diaz Ruiz repeated his performance and presented how and why Alfa Romeo is a different sort of car and brand. He did not speak of the potential performance of the new Alfa Romeo 156 GTA, of its 250 plus HP, of its huge tyres and of its handling.

Instead, he told the dealers (and the media) that the success of the Alfa 147, and of the 156 was the start of a growth trend due to take Alfa Romeo to double their sales by the year 2008. If so, production of Alfa Romeo will move up from the 240 thousands units sold last year to almost half a million cars.

Diaz Ruiz said “Alfa Romeo is a strong, exclusive brand that is perceived as a synonym for styling, sportiness and emotion. It is known the world over, where it is associated not only with beautiful, sparkling cars, but also with a particular lifestyle.”

Brand values of Alfa Romeo are outstanding performance, high technology, good looks, and sportiness. Cars that guarantee the best dynamic behaviour of the field through high power and torque deliveries and superlative chassis.
Soon this will be further emphasized by the forthcoming Alfa 156 and Sportwagon GTA. The new cars are opening a new product line that will include a GTA version in each model of the range, just as there is an 'M' version for nearly all BMW product lines.

The new 156 GTA is planned to go on sale next February, after its official presentation at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The Alfa Romeo 147 GTA will follow one year later. The 166 GTA will be developed for the next generation and so it will for the 2005 Alfa Romeo Spider (with convertible hard top).

Moving the centre of gravity up with Stilo

With Alfa Romeo betting on a dynamic lifestyle and Lancia playing their cars in the exclusive luxury, the Fiat brand is confirming its mission of making innovation affordable to everyone.

If Ferragamo set the example for Lancia revival and Harley Davidson or Gucci are the reference for Alfa Romeo dealers, as suggested by Diaz Ruiz and his fresh management team, IKEA is the way to go for Fiat dealers.

Fiat wants to show 'life in primary colours', by expressing and conveying energy and appeal, presented as both the spirit and the framework of the brand.

“Fiat customers should be aware of this values every time they come into contact with Fiat men and products.” This is the new “credo” of the company to fully exploit the strength of a brand that is in business to offer cutting edge technology at balanced prices.

Fiat says its Stilo will soon be proposing solutions that simplify life for the driver. With a transponder in his pocket, the driver will be able to unlock the car and to start it without a key. On long trips, he will benefit of an intelligent Cruise Control system, with a radar that will maintain the speed, braking and accelerating according to the speed of the car in front.

The lights will be turned on automatically when the car enters a tunnel, activated by the dusk sensor, and at the first drops of a sudden downpour the rain sensor will activate the windscreen wipers. When parking, the driver will be assisted by the parking sensor.

In terms of design and style the new Stilo will offer conveniences that are hard to find even in luxury cars such adjustable for reach and rake rear seats, flexible use of interior space, and roominess itself. For its style the Stilo impressed very well visitors of the Geneva Motor Show where the differently styled Stilo 3 door and Stilo 5 doors were unveiled.

In few words Stilo will really deliver great value for money and convenience available so far in upper class cars.
Fiat has conceived, designed and will build the new Stilo with the aim of making it its best selling model, thus lifting to the European C segment, the centre of gravity of its business, up from the B-segment where the Fiat Punto has so far established itself as a benchmark for all competitors.

Fiat also will work to fully maintain its strong presence in the small and compact car market, and will look for growth in the medium and larger segments, said Roberto Testore.

The new Fiat Stilo will be introduced to the press and dealers in Barcelona early next September with sales in main European markets planned to start next October.