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Alfa Romeo denies crash test problems as source of Giulia delay – reports

The Italian marque has denied reports that the delays related to the Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan have been caused by serious safety problems.


Late last week, supplier sources told Automotive News Europe that the reason for the Giulia's six-or-so month delay was caused by the sedan failing to pass internal front, side and rear crash tests. Failure to pass these internal controls has necessitated an extensive re-engineering programme.

An Alfa Romeo spokesperson told Road & Track that the original report in the industry publication was untrue, claiming it to be "not accurate or representative at all".

Initial reports suggested that the Giulia was delayed so that Alfa Romeo could sort out the car's ride and some of its safety features.

Fiat Chrysler has recently appointed Roberto Fedeli from BMW to be the chief technical officer at both Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Prior to his 16-month stint at BMW, Fideli spent 26 years at Ferrari. In 2007 he was made the head of R&D at Ferrari's passenger car division, and was reportedly instrumental in the development of the LaFerrari.

According to Automotive News Europe, Fideli's first task is to sort out the problems plaguing the Giulia sedan, as well as the Maserati Levante, both of which are behind schedule.

The Giulia Quadrifoglio was initially due to arrive in European showrooms by the end of last year. The latest plan calls for sales of the high-performance sedan to begin between late May and early July. The bread-and-butter versions of the Giulia will reportedly debut at the Geneva motor show at the end of this month, although it's not clear when they'll go on sale.

As for the Levante, Maserati's first SUV, it's formal introduction was initially scheduled for last year, it's now expected to make its debut at the Geneva show.

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