Alfa Romeo is preparing its first electric vehicle for 2022 as the smallest in a trio of SUVs intended to bring the Italian premium brand back from the brink.
The electric compact SUV, similar in size to an Audi Q2, will be crucial in reviving the firm’s dwindling sales in a fast-evolving market where emissions legislation is becoming increasingly tough.
The parent company of Alfa Romeo, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, has been on the back foot with electrification, which is why its ongoing merger with the EV-savvy PSA Group should reap substantial benefits.
Alfa Romeo currently offers no electrified powertrain, but early next year it will launch a mid-size SUV, the Tonale, to be offered as a plug-in hybrid.
Back in 2018, Alfa Romeo announced bold plans to bring back the 8C supercar and the GTV as a Giulia coupé. But by late last year, its strategy had been pared back to just four more mainstream models.
Once the ageing Giulietta family hatchback is retired later this year, Alfa Romeo will sell only the Giulia and Stelvio. The Tonale will be on the road in 2021, followed by the smaller, electric SUV in 2022, completing the brand’s four-strong line-up.
Alfa Romeo will rely on the two smaller SUVs to ensure it achieves its goal of selling 400,000 cars annually. The firm hasn’t yet announced its 2019 global figures, having been delayed by the Covid-19 crisis, but it sold 54,365 cars in Europe – a drop of more than 50% on the year before.
It’s not until Alfa Romeo hits that target that enthusiasts might get what they desire: the pretty sports cars for which the brand is known. The styling of the EV won’t be identical to the Tonale, according to Alfa Romeo.
A spokesman said: “A family feel will be respected – we have style themes across the range – but we don’t want to do a copy and paste across the line-up, because every segment has its own personality, and customers are different in terms of age and expectations.”
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Aussierob
If I had a dollar
For every new model AR were gonna make, I'd be a rich fella...
Robbo
A View from Down Under
Peter Cavellini
Talk the talk, but
Yes, it's all very well saying we are going to this and that, but, there product must be good from the start, there's no point in rushing to market with a 99% ready car!, and Alfa have done that before.
jameshobiecat
So we loose the 8c and jaw
sabre
Merger without hope
FCA and PSA should merge with a Japanese or Korean company, even a small one, in order to improve their Achilles heel - reliability
xxxx
AR
People have been so obessed with dissing JLR products AR got off the hook of selling sub-standard products for to long, sales have dived dived dived and FIAT don't have the tech to bail them out
sbagnall
Now's a good time to pull all
catnip
Peugeot 2008, DS3 Crossback,
Peugeot 2008, DS3 Crossback, Vauxhall Mokka, Fiat 500x successor, and now this small Alfa SUV, all slight variations of essentially the same model. And then you wonder why Renault Nissan are wanting to streamline their model ranges.
eseaton
A headline to make the
A headline to make the stomach churn.
Mikey C
In 50 years time Alfa will
In 50 years time Alfa will still be talking about product plans to raise sales to 400,000 a year and never achieving them
Electricvanman
Back to the future XIV
Now we are really getting back to 60's badge engineering. What next resurrect Lancia again.
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