Er staat bijvoorbeeld al vast dat door hun inmenging de Alfa 6 een nogal saaie koets heeft gekregen
Voordat de Sei op de markt kwam heeft het project jarenlang in de ijskast gelegen. De auto was al in de eerste helft van de jaren zeventig grotendeels klaar. Door de energiecrisis (1973) twijfelde Alfa er aan of een dergelijke grote en zware auto nog wel succesvol zou kunnen zijn.
Wanneer en hoe is de invloed van Fiat volgens jou dan begonnen? Met de komst van Jano?
Alfa Romeo.
This company became part of IRI in 1933, and by the end of the Second World War
was in a parlous state. Having abandoned its main production activity of that time – aircraft
engines – it started up in car manufacturing on a modest scale. The success of the Berlina 1900 in
1950, and especially the Giulietta in 1955, kickstarted a steady growth in production capacity
which, in 1973, reached over 300,000 vehicles a year in the two large plants at Arese and
Pomigliano d’Arco.
The 1973 crisis.
In 1973, an energy crisis exploded onto the scene, triggering a recession and inflation that
would affect the entire global economy for many years to come. Higher borrowing costs and the crisis that
affected its main sectors of activity forced Finmeccanica into a thorough review of the industrial policy it had
pursued until then. Finmeccanica incorporated the main principles of a new strategy in its 1976 strategic
plan: restructuring, internationalisation and a competitive dimension. Achieving these objectives involved
decisions that were not always painless, but involved the whole group in a number of changes, from which
the current company took shape.
The sale of Alfa Romeo.
The car manufacturing industry was the most rapidly invested sector after
the crisis. Alfa Romeo’s design capacity was undisputed, but the competitive framework had
changed enormously: a global situation was forming in which only large companies or adept niche
manufacturers could survive. The future of Alfa Romeo could only be assured if a global agreement
was made with another, stronger car manufacturer. In 1986, Alfa Romeo's manufacturing assets
were transferred to FIAT. A few months later, the Alfa 164 – designed by Pininfarina – was launched
on the market. This was the last significant vehicle to be designed and manufactured within the
Finmeccanica group.
Bron: finmeccanica.it
Tot 1986 was Alfa dus een overheidsbedrijf. Fiat heeft een wel belangrijke bijdrage geleverd aan de 164 (zustermodel van Thema, Croma en 9000), met een groot aantal verbeteringen vlak voor de marktintroductie.