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Turin, Italy • Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says that the automaker will try to reach full-employment in its Italian plants before the 2018 goal as it relaunches the Alfa Romeo brand internationally.
Marchionne said at an event Monday that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' business plan calls for refocusing Italian manufacturing on higher-margin premium brands Alfa Romeo and Maserati to get plants operating at full capacity.
FCA has slowed the rollouts of Alfa Romeos largely due to a slowdown in China's economy, but the CEO says he was encouraged by a recent visit to China. Marchionne said he saw ''a real, live market for Alfa in China," adding: ''I thought the market was shut, and it hasn't."
He said he hopes to launch the new Giulia sedan in China in early 2017.