Alfa might bring Junior to America

New product may be on the way to Alfa Romeo showrooms in this country, at least if plans advance as desired. Speaking earlier this month, the brand’s head of product said Alfa wants to trot the new all-electric Junior on a roadshow to American dealers this year.

For those not up to speed, the Junior is an hatchback-sized EV which was originally called Milano until the Italian government got their knickers in a knot and Alfa chose to rename the thing. The title of Junior isn’t completely random, having shown up at other points in company history. In one of the best bits of PR spite these jaundiced eyes have even seen, Alfa Romeo put out a snarky press release five days after the car’s original launch with an all-caps title reading “MILANO NAME IS NOT OK? JUNIOR THEN!” The pettiness on display gives us life. Make sure to read that all-caps title in an angry Italian accent for maximum effect.

The fully electric Milano Junior starts at £33,895 in the UK, suggesting there could be a chance of this thing having a sticker in the low 30s if base trims were ever to go on sale in this country. The Veloce will start at start at €48,000 on Europe (about $52,000 USD). Horsepower reaches 281 ponies in Veloce trim, while range maxes out at an estimated 250 miles depending on options (though that’s on the endlessly optimistic WLTP cycle), though the Veloce – which is the main trim Alfa execs seem keen on bringing stateside – has a 205-mile estimate.

Note well that Fiat and Stellantis are both part of Stellantis, a company headed up by a man who just threatened to axe underperforming brands which don’t contribute positively to the corporate bottom line. Don’t forget the spectre of tariffs on foreign-made EVs in this country, a reality that would add a couple of percent to this Polish-built electric. Still, that’s better than Volvo which had to pivot to Belgian production of its EX30 to avoid the 100+ percent duty it would face if built in China.