FCA delays ambitious Alfa plans

DETROIT -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has tapped the brakes on its plan to resurrect Alfa Romeo.

The company told analysts in 2014 that it would spend 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion at current exchange rates) developing eight Alfa Romeo vehicles by 2018. The lineup would give the Italian premium brand the products its needs to take on rivals such as Audi and BMW.

But FCA officials last week said the ambitious development plans have been delayed. The first product, the Giulia sedan, will go into production in the first quarter of this year in Italy, and a midsize crossover based on the Giulia will appear by the start of 2018.

However, it now will be 2020 before all six of the other vehicles -- a full-size sedan, two crossovers, two "specialty" vehicles and a hatchback -- are in showrooms, according to the FCA's new business plan. The company cited the severe slowdown in luxury and premium sales in China.

The China slowdown will likely mean more Alfa Romeos available for U.S. dealers, as FCA shifts its volume focus from Asia Pacific to North America and Europe.

But Alfa dealers, who have been promised that the storied Italian performance brand is just around the corner for the past five years, dismissed news of Alfa's latest delay with a shrug.

One dealer said: "It's almost like we expect it at this point."