HSE2

Fiat could be about to sell Alfa Romeo, according to a report from Automotive News Europe. The recent decision to divide the massive Fiat Auto empire into four units - Fiat/Lancia, Alfa Romeo, International Development and Services - splits Alfa from Fiat and Lancia, which, says the report, makes it attractive as a saleable proposition. Fiat is heavily in debt, and offloading one of its premium brands could solve a good few difficulties. The report speculates that General Motors would be the most likely buyer, given that Fiat and GM already have an alliance, and that GM's other European luxury brand, Saab, has not yet lived up to expectations. There are plans afoot within the alliance to re-introduce Alfa to the USA in 2005, and its cars could be distributed and sold alongside those of Saab and Cadillac as a sporting alternative.

However, there is a second theory as to why the Alfa/Fiat split has been instigated - some insiders suggest that Fiat Auto could plan to sell off the mainstream Fiat brand itself, along with its luxury wing, Lancia, and then treat Alfa Romeo as its core business. Or a third scenario: that Alfa Romeo will eventually be merged into a joint company with Ferrari and Maserati (owned by holding company Fiat SpA, not Fiat Auto). The fourth scenario is, of course, to maintain the status quo.