Alfa Romeo here to stay, will transform into electric vehicle specialist

Alfa Romeo has reaffirmed its commitment to Australia and says its transition into a premium electric brand will commence with the Tonale small SUV’s arrival in late-2022.

Speaking at the 2021 Alfa Romeo Stelvio media launch in Melbourne, Alfa Romeo Australia’s head of product and marketing Andre Scott said the brand’s Australian future is an important part of a 10-year electrification plan announced at the Stellantis EV Day investor conference earlier this month.

The plan outlines a €30 billion (AU$47.6B) investment in electrification and software development between now and 2025, which the company says will make Stellantis “the market leader in low emission vehicles” by growing its low-emissions vehicle mix to 70 per cent in Europe and 40 per cent in the USA by 2030.  

This will be made possible by the development of three electric vehicle architectures for small, medium and large passenger cars and SUVs, and a fourth for body-on-frame vehicles such as pick-up trucks. These four architectures would underpin all new vehicles across the group’s 14 brands from 2024 onwards.

As the new parent company for Alfa Romeo following the merger of the Fiat-Chrysler and Peugeot Groups, Stellantis says it will pursue two battery chemistries for its vehicles, sourcing 260 gigaWatt hours of battery capacity from five "gigafactories" across Europe and North American by 2030. These powertrains will provide between 500 and 800km of range and be capable of recharging at a rate of 32km per minute.

In 2026, Stellantis says it will introduce solid state battery technology to the market.  

"Each of the company’s 14 iconic brands is committed to offering best-in-class fully-electrified solutions and doing so in a way that enhances the DNA of each brand."

Alfa Romeo’s place in the portfolio – and in Australia - is secure, says Mr Scott.

"We have an open commitment from our global CEO Jean Phillipe Imparato to convey a 10-year vision for [Alfa Romeo] within the Stellantis portfolio as a premium brand. That has an investment plan behind it but we’re not at liberty to communicate that at this time … And more importantly, Australia has been communicated as being a part of that."

Mr Scott said Alfa Romeo’s future in Australia had been questioned by dealers.

"We’ve needed to answer that question for our [dealer] network. So, when we went to our virtual dealer meeting back in April, we were able to convey to them with confidence that Alfa is here to remain in Australia."

He also said right-hand drive development is a given for all future Alfa Romeo models.

"Alfa is … committed to right-hand drive markets. You know, the product conversations, the development… and we’ve seen nothing but evidence of that so far. Right hand drive is a part of that discussion. It’s not a ‘how do we become a part of it?’."

Mr Scott said more details would be announced globally in the coming weeks. He also said that while the plan states that, "From 2024, Alfa Romeo will become Alfa e-Romeo", Australia can expect the delayed Tonale small SUV to be the first electrified Alfa Romeo in Australia when it arrives in late-2022 or early-2023.

"Where we are with it is, it is on the roadmap for us. [Tonale] is clearly the beginning of our electric future. That is the line in the sand of our product development. When Tonale hits, Alfa Romeo is electric. That's 100 per cent the case.

"As far as timing, spec, content and pricing, I am not at liberty to discuss that. What I can tell you is, that is when we transition from the Alfa Romeo of today to the Alfa of tomorrow."

The Alfa Romeo Tonale small SUV was originally slated for production in October 2021. International reports say that global CEO Imparato pushed production back six months because he was unhappy with the vehicle’s performance.

Until then, Alfa Romeo Australia will make do primarily with the Giulia sedan and Stelvio mid-size SUV. Model Year 2021 updates to Stelvio bring it more into line with the Giulia which received them late in 2020, including Level Two advanced driver assistance systems such as traffic sign recognition, intelligent speed control, active blind-spot assist and driver attention assist.

The diesel option has been dropped from the Stelvio range and a new entry level variant added, powered by the same 148kW/330Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine as the Stelvio Sport. This effectively lowers the entry price by $5000 to $64,950 before on-road costs, although this variant is available by customer order only, and does not get traffic sign recognition.

Mr Scott says stronger supply of the MY21 Stelvio will help Alfa Romeo avoid its worst annual sales result in more than a decade.

Alfa Romeo has sold 304 vehicles to the end of June: Giulia (159), Giulietta (73), Stelvio (66) and 4C (six). Production of the Giulietta ended in 2020, which means that Stelvio needs to increase its contribution considerably if Alfa Romeo is to get ahead its previous low watermark of 711 sales in 2016.

"We can confidently state that we expect more [sales] volume in [2021] half-two than half-one off the back of having stock of Stelvio. What I can’t convey is how strong that growth will be, but we expect growth."