Alfa Romeo’s revival is not going according to plan. Despite a billion-euro investment in the Giorgio platform, the Giulia and Stelvio never lived up to FCA’s expectations, and neither did the Stellaantes. A decade later, both cars remain on sale and will be around until 2027. Modifications are underway, but are taking longer than expected because gas engines were not originally part of the project.
Adding internal combustion powertrains to the next-generation Giulia and Stelvio is one of several recent decisions that contradicts Alfa Romeo’s previous strategy. The brand promised to go all-electric before the end of the decade, but that won’t happen anymore. Similarly, plans for a large electric SUV produced for the US market have been shelved.
Former CEO Jean-Philippe Imperto once said that Alfa Romeo will launch a large electric SUV in North America in 2027 to compete with the BMW X5. However, current boss Santo Fiselli sees things differently. talk with Automotive News Europe“Big cars are not the brand’s territory,” said the head of the storied Italian marque.
Reading between the lines, it looks like the future Stelvio, shown here in teaser images, will be Alfa Romeo’s flagship model. It will use the STLA large platform, designed for vehicles 201.8 inches (5.12 m) long. That said, given Ficelli’s comments, the company likely won’t exploit the platform’s full potential. Still, expect the new SUV to be slightly taller than the current model, which measures 184.5 inches (4.68 meters).
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
It seems the brand is no longer aiming to challenge the Germans’ high-end offerings. This is not necessarily bad news. It’s better to focus on a small lineup and expand later than to spread resources across many projects at once.
By leveraging Stellar’s platform and technology, Alfa Romeo can produce cars and SUVs in most market segments. But it doesn’t want to spread itself too thin, especially given its current struggles. And it’s not just the Giulia and Stelvio that lag behind rivals in terms of sales numbers. The smaller tunnel isn’t much better. Before getting a facelift, production was halted briefly to align output with weak demand. This is never a good sign.
Alfa Romeo is one of several underperforming brands within the Stellar empire. The Lancia isn’t thriving either, and the same can be said for DS Automobiles. Across the Atlantic, Chrysler has certainly seen better days, as it only has one model, the aging Pacifica/Voyager.
Source:
Automotive News Europe
