Alfa Romeo Abandons Plans to Make Bigger Cars

Alfa Romeo’s resurgence isn’t going as planned. Despite a billion-euro investment in the Giorgio platform, the Giulia and Stelvio never lived up to FCA’s expectations, nor those of Stellantis. A decade later, both cars remain on sale and will stick around through 2027. Replacements are in the works, but are taking longer than expected since gas engines weren’t originally part of the plan.

Adding internal combustion powertrains to the next-generation Giulia and Stelvio is just one of several recent decisions that contradict Alfa Romeo’s earlier strategy. The brand had pledged to go fully electric before the end of the decade, but that’s no longer the case. Likewise, plans for a large electric SUV tailored to the U.S. market appear to have been shelved.

Former CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato once said Alfa Romeo would launch a large electric SUV in North America in 2027 to take on the BMW X5. However, current boss Santo Ficili sees things differently. Speaking with Automotive News Europe, the head of the storied Italian marque stated that “large cars are not the brand’s territory.”

Reading between the lines, it seems the future Stelvio, shown here in teaser images, will be Alfa Romeo’s biggest model. It’ll use the STLA Medium platform, designed for vehicles up to 193 inches (4.9 meters) long. That said, given Ficili’s comments, the company likely won’t exploit the platform’s full potential. Still, expect the new SUV to grow slightly compared to the current model, which measures 184.5 inches (4.68 meters).

It appears the brand no longer aims to challenge the Germans’ high-end offerings. That’s not necessarily bad news. It’s better to focus on a smaller lineup and expand later than to spread resources across too many projects at once.

By leveraging Stellantis’ platforms and technology, Alfa Romeo can develop cars and SUVs across most market segments. But it doesn’t want to stretch itself too thin, especially given its current struggles. And it’s not just the Giulia and Stelvio lagging behind rivals in terms of sales numbers. The smaller Tonale isn’t faring much better. Before getting a facelift, production was briefly halted to align output with weak demand. That's never a good sign.

Alfa Romeo is one of several underperforming brands within the Stellantis empire. Lancia isn’t thriving either, and the same could be said for DS Automobiles. Across the Atlantic, Chrysler has certainly seen better days, since it's down to just one model, the aging Pacifica/Voyager.