Alfa’s new model will be its first with pure-electric power
Alfa Romeo is planning on adding a new model to its line up, sitting underneath the Tonale as an entry-level SUV. A new teaser is the first official public confirmation of the car – the name of which is yet to be revealed.
A short video posted by Alfa Romeo instructs watchers to guess the name of the new car which it describes as a ‘Sporty Urban Vehicle’. Alfa Romeo’s new offering will be fully unveiled in early 2024 and the company’s bosses have previously promised that even this smallest of models will still “drive like an Alfa”.
We already have a good idea what to expect under the metal of the baby SUV. Stellantis’ plant in Poland has been chosen to make new models for Fiat, Jeep and Alfa, utilising the firm’s CMP and (all-electric) e-CMP architectures.
Speaking to Auto Express, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato has now all but confirmed that the car due in 2024 is a downsized sibling of the Tonale, designed to give his firm a presence in Europe’s booming small SUV class.
“With Tonale, we are coming back to the C-SUV segment, which is one of the best segments in Europe,” he told us. “Next we have to complete the offer with something else that is in the best-selling segment in Europe. That will be the case in 2024.”
A game-changing #SportyUrbanVehicle is on the horizon. What will be the name of our new Alfa Romeo? Take a guess in the comments below 👇🏻 #AlfaRomeo pic.twitter.com/xVGEgS12UL
— Alfa Romeo (@alfa_romeo) June 7, 2023
Our exclusive images show how the new Jeep Avenger – which uses an e-CMP2 platform – could be used to support a sister model from Alfa. With a more premium positioning, this car will in effect be Stellantis’s rival for the Audi Q2 and MINI Countryman.
Imparato said he is confident that the CMP architecture – which also underpins everything from the Peugeot 2008 to the DS 3 Crossback – can be adapted enough to deliver the spirited driving dynamics expected by Alfa customers. “You will see that it will be an Alfa Romeo,” he said. “We are spending time on designing that car with the same spirit. And the driveability of the car, the performance of that car, will be driven by the tuning that we do on the Tonale. We can have the driveability of an Alfa with this type of product; I have no doubt of that.”
Electric and hybrid powertrains
We expect multiple powertrain options for Alfa’s baby SUV. A pure-electric version would make it the first car in Alfa Romeo’s history to come with EV power. It’s almost certain we’ll see the same 55kWh battery found in the Peugeot e-2008 and Jeep Avenger come to the Alfa, with a 154bhp electric motor on the front axle. A range of around 250 miles should also be expected.
Imparato previously suggested that it will be available as a hybrid as well as an EV. Peugeot recently announced that its 2008 would receive a new 48-volt mild-hybrid powertrain which would make sense to use in the new Alfa. It’s made up of a 1.2-litre, petrol engine with a small electric motor for a combined 136bhp.
More electric Alfa Romeos
Elsewhere, Imparato also confirmed that Alfa will be the first Stellantis brand to use the group’s bespoke all-electric STLA platform tech, with a standalone electric model due in 2025 – and that a further EV will follow in 2026.
These are likely to be successors to the Giulia saloon and Stelvio SUV, bringing both nameplates and, Alfa hopes, existing customers into the BEV era. He said, “We love Giulia and Stelvio and we have to work on those two cars. We will do it.” This supports an earlier interview with Auto Express where Imparato said, “The shape of the Giulia is fantastic, I don’t want to lose this. The car is absolutely gorgeous, so there is a future for this type of car.”
He reiterated that the firm could even revisit some of its most iconic nameplates and bodystyles in zero-emissions form, once the line-up, sales and balance sheet have been stabilised after years of under-investment. This would not be until well into the second half of this decade, he suggested.
“We will never give up dreaming,” he said, “so yes, we have projects for Spiders. But it will not be something I will be able to sell to my president [Carlos Tavares] or convince him to validate before having secured the profitability of Alfa Romeo that is positive today. We have already gone from red numbers to black, but we don’t want to go back, ever. We will never lose money any more; there is no option.
“I have to feed the customers, the Alfa Romeo network with offers in the short-term period that are at the core of the European market and at the core of the switch to carbon neutral. For me, it’s an existential question; it is not a choice-driven one.”
Now read our review of the updated Alfa Romeo Stelvio…
Keyword: Alfa Romeo’s new baby SUV gets official teaser ahead of 2024 launch