Alfa UK Sales Figures & Holiday Jottings

["Tim Hancock" <timhancock@domain.elided>]

The AROC (UK) mag which arrived last week has some sales figures which make
interesting reading. The essentials are as follows:
January to June 2000- Total UK Alfa Romeo sales 4548
January to June 2001- Total UK Alfa Romeo sales 8600
UK market share has risen from 0.37% to0.68%.

Against a background of falling sales Alfa have increased overall European
sales by 14.8%. This figure is second only to that of Skoda (I had to get
that in as our other car is a Skoda)

156 is far and away the best selling current Alfa with nearly 300,000 built
since 1998, and almost 95,000 being built last year. 156 accounts for 55% of
Alfas total production in 2000 and is likely to become the best selling Alfa
of all time. Draw your own conclusions.

The only fly I shall cast into this ointment for new car buyers is that
residual prices on Alfas in the UK remain very poor. I believe this is
because we are still overcharged for new cars in the UK yet the trade still
does not trust Alfa for historical reasons so in effect they are marked down
twice on trade in. This is why you can pick up a two year old perfect 166
for just over half the original showroom price.

Jolly Holidays!!

I have just returned from two weeks in sunny Rhodes, and the first thing you
see as you leave the airport is the Fiat/Lancia/Alfa dealer with its new
showrooms and three large illuminated brand signs on the roof (There was
also an abandoned Fiat 850 coupe in the airport carpark, which I just wanted
to hug and bring home with me).

The most numerous Alfas on Rhodes (an Island of about 50 miles long by 25
miles wide)  are 33s of all ages and conditions, followed by 75s and then
155s and comparatively few 156s. I saw about six 164s (one was Italian
registered) and the only 166 I saw was in the showroom. I saw one very very
battered but running Giulia 1.6 . People obviously liked their 75s as they
seemed in better condition than many cars of similar vintage. Most were 1.8s
and Twinsparks. I may have seen the occasional V6, but only at a distance so
 I'm not sure.

Just to skate over to Lancia for a minute (these are no longer imported to
UK) I saw the Libra saloon/sedan which may well use the same floor pan as
156 judging from its size. I was not overly impressed with its bland looks
and it confirmed my personal opinion that Lancia is struggling for a viable
identity for its cars. This at least is something Alfa-Romeo has no problem
with. The Rover 75 seems a much better mid range luxury package, and there
were a handful of 75s seen on the island looking comparatively superieur. I
saw an abandoned Fulvia Coupe which was past being mothered, so I shed a
tear and sped on in my hired Hyundai Accent (which I found to be a rather
unpleasant little car to drive when set against our Skoda Felicia).

Car spotting is fun on Rhodes as many old cars are just left to rot on waste
ground and you can see quite a few nostalgia prodding wrecks as you drive
around, and others still running despite the odds. The Islanders also erect
shrines at the sites of fatal road accidents where they have lost loved
ones. They are very numerous.

Just before I went away there was a posting from a Greek digester on Rhodes.
If he reads my note it would be nice to hear his views on Alfa motoring on
the Island.

Tim Hancock   164 TS Lusso    Boston UK

(My favorite Greek sign in English was seen on the road from Rhodes town to
Lindos. It was a shop with a sign clearly advertising "Mad pets". Only on
closer examination you could see a number of letter had fallen off the sign
and it should have read "Hand Made Carpets" )

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