Alfa Romeo isn't kidding around about its return to the US market: Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed that Alfa is planning to open a factory in the United States.
Citing the drop in the US dollar against the Euro as a principal motivating factor, Marchionne said that manufacturing cars in America was vital to the profitability of Alfa's stateside venture. The Canadian-Italian industrialist anticipated that Alfa would only begin making a profit after three or four years in the US.
This won't be the first time a Fiat division has manufactured in the United States. In 1909 the Italian automaker inaugurated a plant in Poughkeepsie in upstate New York which it closed a decade later.
Meanwhile, industry sources indicate that Alfa's main factory at Pomigliano d'Arco in southern Italy will close for two months beginning in January as a last-ditch effort to get Alfa Romeo build quality up to spec or else face complete closure.
[Source: Automotive News (sub. req.) via Italiaspeed]
