Alfa Romeo to End Its Romance With the American Market

After years of losses, Italian sports car maker Alfa Romeo said Tuesday that it will stop selling cars in the United States and Canada this summer.

The company, known for its flashy, high-performance automobiles, said it has suffered significant losses and could not justify the large investment that would be needed to meet tough new U.S. safety and emissions standards.

The decision will end a presence in the United States that began in 1963.

Alfa Romeo, a subsidiary of Italian auto maker Fiat, has suffered steadily declining sales. It sold just 565 cars in the United States last year, fewer than half the 1,325 it sold in 1993. The company offered only two models: the 164 mid-size sedan and the Spider two-seat roadster, which gained fame when Dustin Hoffman drove one in the 1967 film “The Graduate.”

The company said it will stop making cars to U.S. specifications when the 1995 model year ends in August.