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BMW announced earlier today that it will be working with Fiat and Alfa Romeo on future small car platforms and engines, but it looks as though that partnership will also spread to the retail side of the car business.

Alfa Romeo is planning to make a return to the U.S. in 2010, but had no real plans in place on how to distribute its vehicles. There was talk of Alfa using Land Rover and Jaguar dealerships to distribute its vehicles, but with a large discrepancy in price, that solution didn’t make a lot of sense.

But the problem appears to be solved as some Mini dealers in the U.S. will also double as Alfa dealerships. “Mini U.S. dealers would have the possibility to also sell Alfa Romeo cars,” a Fiat spokesman told Automotive News Europe.

The move makes more sense that using Land Rover and Jaguar dealerships, but it’s possible that Alfa’s sales could eat into Mini’s. Alfa’s first car set to launch in the U.S. will be an entry-level premium five-door hatchback — code-named project 940 – which could spell trouble for Mini’s Clubman.

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