New Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Giulia confirmed, electric power likely

The next-generation Alfa Romeo Stelvio mid-size SUV will receive a successor in the coming years, alongside its Giulia sedan sibling – and they're expected to shun their bespoke underpinnings and Ferrari-derived V6s in favour of electric motors and Stellantis group underpinnings.

Confirmed to media at the reveal of the brand's new Tonale small SUV, Alfa Romeo's mid-size Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV will enter new generations in the coming years – widely expected to go electric, using dedicated platforms shared with other brands in the Stellantis group.

When asked if the current Giulia and Stelvio will gain electric or hybrid options before the ends of their life cycles, Daniel Tiago Guzzafame, Alfa Romeo global product manager, confirmed to Australian and Japanese media: "We will release ... the new Giulia and Stelvio later".

No other details of the new models were confirmed, however it is strongly hinted the next-generation Giulia and Stelvio will be offer electric power – suggesting the new models will go on sale after 2024, when Alfa Romeo's first electric vehicle will launch.

Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Phillipe Imparato confirmed the inbound electric Giulia to Auto Express last year, hinting at a launch in 2024, and the use of the STLA Large electric platform being developed by Alfa Romeo's parent company, Stellantis (the merger of Peugeot-Citroen and Fiat-Chrysler).

In the meantime, plug-in hybrid or all-electric versions of the Giulia and Stelvio – which are now six and seven years old respectively – are under consideration, but a decision is yet to be made on whether they will reach showrooms.

"For the current generation, it [electric and hybrid options] is something we are balancing versus the jump to the full electric world," Guzzafame explained.

"There is a decision that we need to make in whether to do that temporary action on the current engine, by electrifying those engines, or just doing the jump and do electric only. That is a decision we still need to take, and we will comment on that later on, probably at the end of the year."

Insider information seen by Drive suggests Alfa Romeo has been developing plug-in hybrid and electric powertrains for the Stelvio since as early as 2019, which would be shared with the upcoming Maserati Grecale, which shares the current Stelvio and Giulia's Giorgio architecture.

However, it's not clear if development of these electrified powertrains is still ongoing, or the plug was pulled at some point in the last three years.

Previous reports have suggested the Giorgio platform has not been developed to support electrification – however the validity of these rumours isn't clear, given the billion-dollar, rear-wheel-drive Giorgio platform will be used as the basis for the new Maserati Grecale Folgore electric SUV, due this year.

It's not clear whether the "end of the year" date floated by Guzzafame refers to confirmation of the current-generation electric Giulia and Stelvio's arrivals, or global unveilings – but launching the vehicles later than 2023 would place them perilously close to the launch of their next-generation successors, making the investment harder to justify.

Either way, the next-generation Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio are expected to ride on the Stellantis group's STLA Large electric platform, which supports batteries between 101kWh and 118kWh in capacity and electric motors developing between 125kW and 330kW each.

With a choice of front, rear or all-wheel drive (depending on requirements), the platform is capable of up to 800km of electric driving range, and 0-100km/h times as low as 2.0 seconds.

Alfa Romeo has committed to introducing one new model every year between 2022 and 2026 – led by the Tonale small SUV in 2022, and rumoured to be followed by an even smaller SUV (tentatively dubbed the Brennero) due in 2023 or 2024, with the expected option of electric power in 2024.

New generations of the Giulia and Stelvio are therefore likely to slot in from 2024 onwards – ahead of the brand's switch to electric power exclusively in North America, Europe and China in 2027.

When questioned about the future of the Giorgio platform, Guzzafame told media: "I will answer specifically to this segment. In this segment worldwide there is a clear trend [towards] a transverse application ... with clear needs for the rear seat, the trunk that moved into a different choice of the platform."

"That doesn't mean any Giorgio evolution is dead and closed. That's a choice that was specific for this vehicle to fit best ... the requests and needs of the market."

Facelifts for the current Giulia and Stelvio could be set to arrive in late 2022, as reported by Drive – which could be used as an opportunity to launch new electric variants.

Stay tuned to Drive for all the latest news on the next-generation 2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Giulia, as they come to hand.