Who Owns Alfa Romeo?

Alfa Romeo, an Italian luxury car manufacturer, is based in Turin, Italy. Nicola Romeo, Ugo Stella, and Alexandre Darracq founded the company in 1910 as ALFA (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili). ALFA’s first car was the 1910 24 HP, which inspired the 40–60 HP models. In 1911, the company ventured into motor racing with two 24 HPs. The automaker developed the GP1914, an advanced Grand Prix car with a four-cylinder engine.

ALFA was renamed Alfa Romeo after Nicola Romeo took over the company. In 2023, Alfa Romeo sold between 70,000 and 80,000 units, up 30% from 2022. Tonale is Alfa Romeo’s top-selling model, accounting for around 60% of the brand’s total sales. [1]

Alfa has an illustrious racing history. In 1920, the automaker released the Torpedo 20–30 HP, the first Alfa Romeo-branded car. This sportscar won at Mugello ahead of the Targa Florio, which Enzo Ferrari drove.

In Feb 2023, Alfa Romeo launched a new Formula One car before the start of the 2023 F1 season. The brand partnered with Swiss-based Sauber for four years to compete in F1. 2023 was Alfa Romeo’s last Formula season. The brand exited F1 after losing Sauber to the Audi Works team. [2]

Alfa Romeo produces several luxury car models, including Giulia, Selvio, Quadrifoglio, and Tonale. Each option has variants with unique features for different consumer segments. In Jul 2023, Alfa Romeo boss Jean-Philippe Imparato presented facelifted Giulia and Stelvio. The company announced plans to launch an all-new model. But who owns Alfa Romeo? [3]

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Who is Alfa Romeo’s Parent Company?

Alfa Romeo is owned by Stellantis NV, a global automotive manufacturing corporation based in Hoofddorp, Netherlands. Stellantis was formed in Jan 2021 after the PSA Group and Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) merged. It is the parent company of 14 iconic brands, including Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat, Peugeot, Citroën, Opel, Vauxhall, Maserati, Abarth, DS, and Lancia. In Oct 2023, Stellantis launched Pro One to boost its commercial vehicles business. [4]

Stellantis is the world’s fourth-largest auto manufacturing corporation, with over 272,000 employees. The company is strengthening its global electrification ecosystem to support its carbon neutrality ambitions. In 2023, Stellantis opened its new Battery Technology Center in Turin, Italy, to design, develop, and test battery packs, modules, and cells. [5]

Stellantis’ portfolio includes high-performance supercars, luxury SUVs, sports cars, vans, and commercial vehicles. The automaker sold 1.527 million units in 2023, with plug-in hybrids as the top sellers. In 2023, Stellantis’ plug-in hybrid EV sales increased by 124%. The company notched a 47% plug-in hybrid market share after unveiling the Dodge Hornet R/T and Alfa Romeo Tonale crossovers. [6]

Alfa Romeo has flourished under Stellantis NV. Registrations for new Alfa Romeo cars have surged globally. In 2023, Stellantis launched the Alfa Romeo Tonale Q4 plug-in hybrid version in Europe. This car boosted Alfa Romeo’s growth across EU countries, with a 188% increase in registrations in Italy, 174% in France, 121% in Spain, 112% in Germany, and 186% in the Netherlands. [7]

Alfa Romeo’s Ownership History

Alexandre Darracq and Ugo Stella bought the assets of Italian Darracq after its dissolution. They used the assets to establish ALFA. In Aug 1915, Nicola Romeo took over ALFA to produce military hardware for WWI. Romeo rebranded ALFA to Alfa Romeo and expanded the company with his war profits. In 1932, the Italian government rescued Alfa Romeo after Nicola Romeo left and took ownership.

The Alfa Romeo emblem never changed for 62 years, from 1910 to 1972. It included the cross and the Biscione serpent symbols that identify Milan, with the word MILANO on the logo. In Dec 2023, Alfa Romeo named its first 100% electric sport SUV MILANO. This car pays tribute to Alfa Romeo’s roots and ownership history. [8]

The Italian government sold Alfa Romeo to Fiat in 1986. Fiat acquired Maserati in 2005 and merged it with Alfa Romeo to create a sports and luxury division. In 2009, Fiat bought a 20% stake in Chrysler to become the majority shareholder. Fiat increased its shares in Chrysler to 100% within five years and created Fiat Chrysler Automotive. [9]

Exor was the largest shareholder of Fiat Chrysler. Exor CEO John Elkann is the grandson of Gianni Agnelli, one of the founders of Fiat Motor. In 2021, Elkann initiated the Fiat-Chrysler and PSA merger to create Stellantis and became Stellantis Chairman. This deal transferred Alfa Romeo’s ownership from Fiat Chrysler to Stellantis. In Aug 2023, Stellantis presented the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale powered by ICE and BEV tech. [10]

Alfa Romeo’s Shareholder Structure

Alfa Romeo is a wholly-owned Stellantis subsidiary. Stellantis offers Stock A and B share classes with one vote each. The company owns 100% of 208,622 Stock A shares. As of 2023, Stellantis’ shareholders held 3,165,189,336 Stock B outstanding shares and 2,344,621,118 free-float shares. [11]

Exor NV is Stellantis’ largest shareholder with 14.29 % of shares, followed by the Peugeot Family at 7.46%.Exor is an investment holding firm for the Agnelli family, led by Exor CEO and Stellantis Chairman Elkann. The family owns 52% of Exor shares and has 85.4% of the voting rights. So, the Agnelli family controls Stellantis via Exor. [12]

Bpifrance is Stellantis’ third-largest shareholder, with a 6.76% stake in the company. It is a state-owned investment bank used by the French government. This connection has strained the Italy-France relationship. Italy doesn’t have a stake in Stellantis even though the company was founded to represent French and Italian car brands. In Jan 2024, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blasted Stellantis for its efforts to migrate car manufacturing jobs from Italy to lower-cost countries. [13]

Business lobbyists have pushed Italy to invest directly in Stellantis as a counterweight to the shareholding of the French state. In Jun 2023, Chairman Elkann said Stellantis doesn’t need Italy as its shareholder. The pressure campaign can force Stellantis to give Italy a minority stake in the company. [14]

Dongfeng Motor is the fourth-largest Stellantis shareholder. The automaker held 3.1% of Stellantis shares as of Dec 2022. In Nov 2023, Stellantis repurchased 50 million common shares from Dongfeng for €934 million. The company plans to cancel the shares. This deal reduced Dongfeng Motor’s stake in Stellantis to 1.58% or 49.2 million common shares. [15]

Stellantis NV is a public company that trades on the Milan, Paris, and New York stock exchanges. As of Dec 2023, public investors held 71.1% of Stellantis shares. These free-float shares are traded on stock exchanges. [16]

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