Stellantis is in trouble right now. Sales for all of its American brands are down, and the company is on the hunt for a new CEO. You get a better picture of things at the dealership level. Over at brands like Jeep, dealers are sitting on inventory they can’t seem to sell. Dealers for Fiat and Alfa Romeo are in even worse shape. A perfect example of this is an Alfa dealership in Northern California that only has six new vehicles on the lot.
Sent to us via tip by a reader (h/t to Antonio Otero!), Alfa Romeo of Marin is located in San Rafael, California, near San Francisco. It’s one of just three Alfa Romeo dealerships in the Bay Area; the other two are in Livermore and San Jose. Not very ideal if you need service, or if you’re interested in buying a new one.
You see, Alfa Romeo of Marin has just six new vehicles in its inventory. And when I say new, I mean “new,” as just one of them is a 2024 model. There are two 2022 Giulias, two ‘22 Stelvios, one ‘23 Giulia and a single 2024 Tonale. Why so few vehicles? Sales could have something to do with it. Alfa sales were down across the board in Q2 of this year. Its top seller is the Stelvio with just 1,866 sold so far this year, and that’s down 32 percent from 2023.
I called and spoke with a member of the sales team and was told that the reason the dealer has so few cars is because they simply don’t have the room. The salesperson said they’re trying to clear out this inventory so they can get newer cars. However, when I asked about models like the Tonale, I was told the one in the inventory is about to be sold and they don’t expect to get another one anytime soon. That conflicts with what I was told about them clearing out the old stuff, especially as the Tonale is Alfa’s freshest offering.
The dealer’s main business seems to be supercars, something you’ll notice when looking at the dealer’s used car inventory. It’s both healthier and prettier than what’s new in stock, filled with cars like Lamborghini Huracans, Uruses and Bentley Continentals. The dealer may just be getting out of the business of selling the Italian brand, and they’re not alone.
Digging through Alfa owner forums, I came across a thread from February detailing how the biggest Alfa dealership in Northern California, Alfa Romeo of Stevens Creek, sent out emails to owners saying they wouldn’t be accepting any more service appointments. Sure enough, if you go looking for the Stevens Creek website it’s gone, and they’re also listed as closed on Yelp. A few owners in the thread detailed other Alfa dealers in other parts of the country that have closed, like Alfa Romeo of Fort Worth, which closed in January. If more dealers continue to close, thousands of people are going to be left wondering what to do when or if their Alfa needs to be serviced, and it could scare new owners away from even considering the brand.