This Alfa Romeo Dealership Has Simply Six New Vehicles, And 4 Of Them Are Two Mannequin Years Previous


Stellantis is in hassle proper now. Gross sales for all of its American manufacturers are down, and the corporate is on the hunt for a brand new CEO. You get a greater image of issues on the dealership stage. Over at manufacturers like Jeep, sellers are sitting on stock they will’t appear to promote. Sellers for Fiat and Alfa Romeo are in even worse form. An ideal instance of that is an Alfa dealership in Northern California that solely has six new autos on the lot.

Despatched to us through tip by a reader (h/t to Antonio Otero!), Alfa Romeo of Marin is positioned in San Rafael, California, close to San Francisco. It’s considered one of simply three Alfa Romeo dealerships within the Bay Space; the opposite two are in Livermore and San Jose. Not very supreme in case you want service, or in case you’re inquisitive about shopping for a brand new one.

Screenshot: Alfa Romeo of Marin

You see, Alfa Romeo of Marin has simply six new autos in its stock. And once I say new, I imply “new,” as simply considered one of them is a 2024 mannequin. There are two 2022 Giulias, two ‘22 Stelvios, one ‘23 Giulia and a single 2024 Tonale. Why so few autos? Gross sales may have one thing to do with it. Alfa gross sales had been down throughout the board in Q2 of this 12 months. Its prime vendor is the Stelvio with simply 1,866 offered to this point this 12 months, and that’s down 32 p.c from 2023.

I known as and spoke with a member of the gross sales staff and was informed that the rationale the vendor has so few vehicles is as a result of they merely don’t have the room. The salesperson mentioned they’re making an attempt to filter this stock to allow them to get newer vehicles. Nonetheless, once I requested about fashions just like the Tonale, I used to be informed the one within the stock is about to be offered they usually don’t anticipate to get one other one anytime quickly. That conflicts with what I used to be informed about them clearing out the previous stuff, particularly because the Tonale is Alfa’s freshest providing.

The vendor’s major enterprise appears to be supercars, one thing you’ll discover when wanting on the vendor’s used automotive stock. It’s each more healthy and prettier than what’s new in inventory, full of vehicles like Lamborghini Huracans, Uruses and Bentley Continentals. The vendor may be getting out of the enterprise of promoting the Italian model, they usually’re not alone.

Digging via Alfa proprietor boards, I got here throughout a thread from February detailing how the largest Alfa dealership in Northern California, Alfa Romeo of Stevens Creek, despatched out emails to house owners saying they wouldn’t be accepting any extra service appointments. Positive sufficient, in case you go in search of the Stevens Creek web site it’s gone, they usually’re additionally listed as closed on Yelp. Just a few house owners within the thread detailed different Alfa sellers in different components of the nation which have closed, like Alfa Romeo of Fort Price, which closed in January. If extra sellers proceed to shut, 1000’s of persons are going to be left questioning what to do when or if their Alfa must be serviced, and it may scare new house owners away from even contemplating the model.