Author Description

The partnership between Alfa Romeo and Nissan, called ARNA, was signed by the presidents of the respective brands, Takashi Ishihara and Ettore Massacesi, on October 9th, 1980, and was a first in continental Europe: the joint venture, as we would say nowadays, would guarantee 3,500 workplaces and a development-manufacturing merging, even if limited to just one model. Pity that, in Italy, the entire operation was truly mismanaged. Motor industry commentators often cite the Alfa Romeo Arna as a perfect example of how not to combine the talents of two manufacturers. The world sat up and took notice when Alfa Romeo announced its forthcoming partnership with Nissan in October 1980 - the combination of the two had the potential to build something special. By 1986, Alfa Romeo's parent company, the Italian government-owned Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale was suffering from heavy losses, and IRI president Romano Prodi put Alfa Romeo up for sale, with Fiat ultimately emerging as the new owner of Alfa. Fiat's first decision was to cease Arna production owing to its poor reputation and poor sales and to terminate the unsuccessful Alfa Romeo Nissan alliance. Production ceased in 1987, with Fiat intending to strengthen the competitiveness of the Alfa Romeo 33 as Alfa's entry in that segment. By this time, Nissan had set up a European operation of its own at Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK in Sunderland, which became hugely successful.