Alfa Romeo future plans including 2012 SUV

With the 147, Brera, GT and Spider models slowly being phased out, the new model is expected to kickstart a range of new cars to enter the company's showroom in the coming years. A 159 replacement is also being planned, set to be called the Alfa Romeo Giulia, which will go on sale in 2013.

Also coming sometime in 2013 will be a four-door version of the Alfa Romeo Mito, and the production version of the Alfa Romeo 4C sports car that was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year. A Giulietta replacement is expected to follow in 2014.

Back to the Alfa C-SUV though. Reports say the new model will be developed alongside a new Jeep SUV which is planned to replace the Patriot and Compass. It will also be produced at Fiat's Mirafiori production plant in Turin, like the Jeep model.

According to plans, the company aims to produce more than 100,000 of the Alfa SUVs per year, with 50 percent of them allocated for the European market and the other half for the US. The model's introduction to the US will be held off until the company's official relaunch, which will take place in 2013 with the 4C sports car.

Reports say the C-SUV will be available in both front- and all-wheel drive layouts and be based on an extended version of the Giulietta's platform, from Fiat's Compact Plus Global Modular Architecture.