As we had broadly anticipated in recent months, Alfa Romeo has taken a major step back from their “all-electric” stance; the strategy announced years ago will change both in Europe and North America. This new strategy comes after Carlos Tavares’ resignation as CEO of Stellantis and the change of Alfa Romeo’s CEO, now in the hands of Santo Ficili, who has been in the United States in recent days to meet with the brand’s team and dealerships.
Alfa Romeo changes strategy in Europe and United States: will not be a 100% electric brand
It’s well known that things aren’t going very well with electric motors in the old continent, or rather: things aren’t going as planned. Having sensed this trend, Alfa Romeo has taken a step back with the next-generation Giulia and Stelvio. The two vehicles were supposed to be exclusively electric, but instead both the SUV and the sedan will have a multi-power platform, thus enabling combustion, hybrid, and electric powertrains. Although the new electric Stelvio will arrive in 2025, other powertrains will be added later, and the same will happen in North America.
The Italian automaker was supposed to become all-electric starting from 2027, but things won’t go that way. Stellantis has confirmed the multi-energy path, after all, the STLA Large platform of Stelvio and Giulia allows it. The reason isn’t hard to understand: things aren’t going very well for the brand in North America, with sales down 19% in 2024, with only 8,865 vehicles registered. Going all-in on electric at this moment would probably have been suicide in Tesla’s homeland, so the multi-power approach makes a lot of sense. New gen Giulia and Stelvio will therefore have gasoline, Plug-in Hybrid, and Full Electric engines.
Moreover, with Donald Trump as President of the United States having canceled the electric vehicle mandate, betting everything on zero-emission vehicles would not have been a wise strategy.