CAPELLA Auto, the agent for Alfa Romeo and Jeep cars in Singapore, is winding up its business by June and will sell its remaining stock of cars over the next few months.
Speaking to The Straits Times on Thursday (Jan 23), Capella Auto’s marketing director Tracy Teo said the company will continue to offer maintenance, repair and warranty claims for existing customers until the middle of 2025.
The two brands have each sold fewer than 25 units a year in the last three years.
In December 2024, Capella Auto moved the showrooms of the two brands from 1 Chang Charn Road in Bukit Merah to 30 Leng Kee Road, where the maintenance workshops are located.
Both Alfa Romeo from Italy and American brand Jeep are part of Stellantis, an automotive group that also owns French brands Citroen and Peugeot, and German brand Opel.
Asked about the future of the two brands’ distributorship, Stellantis’ spokesman Justin Scott said: “Our business model has not changed. We will inform you if there are any developments.”
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Capella Auto only distributes Alfa Romeo and Jeep. The company is part of Komoco Group, a multi-franchise dealer that distributes brands such as Hyundai, Maserati and Ferrari.
Previously called Chrysler Jeep Automotive Singapore, the company has been representing Jeep since 1996. The Alfa Romeo distributorship began on Apr 1, 2023, after the previous agent of 18 years, EuroAutomobile, shut its showroom in 2022.
Teo said that the decision to drop the two brands was taken after looking at how they fit into Komoco’s overall business strategy.
It was also driven by the strong competition from German premium brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which have loyal customers who are not willing to switch, she added.
The affected staff have been redeployed to Komoco’s other brands, with one salesperson remaining to handle inquiries.
Alfa Romeo and Jeep have seen modest popularity here.
In 2024, there were 20 Alfa Romeo and 24 Jeep registrations. This is more than 2023, which saw 10 Alfa Romeos and 19 Jeeps registered, but similar to 2022’s performance of 19 Alfa Romeos and 22 Jeeps.
In contrast, BMW delivered 5,042 units in 2024, higher than the 3,379 units in 2023 and 3,720 in 2022.
Dr Victor Kwan, previously a senior motor trader and now a senior lecturer with the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said the positioning of Alfa Romeo and Jeep has not been sufficiently strong and clear for them to achieve mass acceptance in Singapore.
Rather than rivals to BMW and Mercedes-Benz, they are regarded alongside more mass-market European brands such as Citroen and Renault here, he said.
“Brand perception can differ from market to market, but with Alfa Romeo, people may not even know about its country of origin,” said Dr Kwan, who previously helmed mass-market and luxury brands.
He said that it is a similar situation for Jeep, adding: “Even though the name is used as a generic term for sport utility vehicles, the man in the street probably cannot name the models in the Jeep line-up.”
Changes in motor distributorships are not unheard of.
In 2022, BMW appointed Eurokars Group as its second dealer in Singapore, in addition to long-time partner Performance Motors.
In 2023, motor distributor Vertex Automobile stopped representing Spanish car brand Seat after seven years. Service support was taken up by Volkswagen Group Singapore, but it is no longer possible to buy a new Seat.
In 2016, TTS Eurocars stopped distributing Italian brand Fiat here after 11 years. THE STRAITS TIMES
