Alfa Romeo Plans SUV for 2015

Fiat SpA's troubled Alfa Romeo brand aims to add its first sport-utility vehicle in 2015, according to Bloomberg News, which cites unidentified sources.

The SUV will use the same platform that carries Alfa's Giulietta sport sedan and Chrysler Group LLC's Dodge Dart small car, according to Bloomberg's sources. They say the vehicle will be produced at Fiat's assembly plant in Mirafiori, Italy.

The new model would be among nine Fiat aims to introduce over the next four years to help revive the Alfa brand.

CEO Sergio Marchionne's plan to bolster Fiat's performance in Europe and maintain employment at its factories relies heavily on boosting local production of upscale models from the company's Alfa, Jeep and Maserati brands.

Fiat hopes its latest product strategy for Alfa will increase sales to 300,000 units by 2016, more than three times the marque's volume last year. In 2010, Marchionne predicted a previous attempt to relaunch Alfa would generate annual sales of 500,000 units by 2014.