Alfa Romeo to Get SUV in 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 ride on the same platform that carries Alfa's Giulietta sport sedan and Chrysler Group LLC's Dodge Dart compact sedan, according to Bloomberg's sources. They say the new SUV will be produced at Fiat's assembly plant in Mirafiori, Italy.

The new model would be among nine Alfas that Fiat intends to introduce over the next four years to help revive the brand.

CEO Sergio Marchionne's strategy for bolstering Fiat's performance in Europe and maintaining employment at its factories relies heavily on boosting domestic production of upscale models like those from Alfa, Jeep and Maserati.

Fiat hopes its latest product plan 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.