Report: Alfa Romeo Working On Electric SUV for American Market

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

Alfa Romeo is not known for its vehicles’ efficiency or environmental consciousness, but the company is heading toward an all-electric future like many others. The automaker’s North American CEO, Larry Dominique, told The Drive that Alfa’s working on an electric SUV for the American market and promised that it would be different from the sea of increasingly homogenous vehicles hitting the market.


“We think of ourselves as different from the others. We just don’t want to blend in. We’re not a gray BMW. Our customers tell us they buy Alfas because ‘You’re not that.’” Alfa Romeo currently sells the Giulia and Stelvio in the U.S., but the Tonale crossover is on its way. The new ‘ute will be offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, and the automaker aims to shift to all-electric sales by 2027. 


Dominque told The Drive that the “upcoming E-segment car will be designed and styled in Italy but will be developed with U.S. customers in mind. Details like interior size, features packaging, cupholder size, tech, etc. will be ideal for North America.” He went on to say that Alfa expects the United States to make up 70 percent of the new SUV’s sales, so the focus on American-sized features makes sense. 


[Image: Alfa Romeo]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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  • Nick Naylor Nick Naylor on May 04, 2023

    I've got a 2020 Giulia that has been perfectly reliable (at 30k miles now) and a joy to drive/own. It also gets 30mpg average on my commute and 33/34 on highway runs, which I call pretty dang efficient. It's unfortunate for Alfa that consumers don't consider them more, I think there is no maintenance/reliability loss these days on an Alfa vs. a competing BMW, Benz, Audi or Cadillac; and you're getting a more interesting car IMO.


    If low maintenance is your top priority when considering a luxury brand, then it seems Lexus or Acura are your only choices.

    • Kwik_Shift Kwik_Shift on May 04, 2023

      Giulia is a head turner. I like how they look and I'm sure it feels good to drive one.



  • SPPPP SPPPP on May 04, 2023

    I'm interested to see what Alfa comes up with, but I wonder how an EV SUV can coexist with the Alfa virtues.

  • VoGhost VoGhost on May 04, 2023

    You knew Stellantis wasn't serious when they decided to not sell a single Alfa in the US with a stick.

    • Lorenzo Lorenzo on May 09, 2023

      Oh, they're serious - about making money. For the price range, they would be lucky to get one enthusiast who wants a stick out of twenty sales, probably fewer. Offering both would put a stigma on those shiftless Americans who just want to start the engine and go.



  • Dartdude Dartdude on Oct 01, 2023

    Lorenzo, the reason for low manual transmission here is that most dealers won't stock them. I wanted a 2012 Kia Koup with manual tranny it was available, but no dealers ordered any from the factory hence there was none available. Go on any car manufacture's web site and price and build and build your model and you would be lucky if the model existed and was available.

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