More updates are likely to be applied soon to the Alfa Romeo's more than decade old flagship models.
Supposed to have been been launched last year and later this year, Alfa Romeo has delayed the next generation Stelvio and Giulia till 2028 as a result of parent company Stellantis’ move away from fully electric powertrains.
U-turn….
Back in 2023, the conglomerate announced that its all-electric policy by 2026 would result in Alfa Romeo becoming wholly electric by 2027 in readiness for the now overturned European Union ban on internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035.
ALSO READ: Alfa Romeo drops EV-only mandate and sedan body for next Giulia
In a statement last year, Alfa Romeo CEO, Santo Ficili, said the pair would ride on one of Stellantis’ STLA platforms and retain use of the long-serving 2.9-litre bi-turbo V6 that powers the Stelvio Quadrifoglio and Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde (QV).
“We will launch the new Stelvio at the end of 2025. And in 2026, we will launch the new Giulia. [Giulia’s] platform will be the same as that of the Stelvio. So, you can imagine what kind of vehicle we will offer,” Ficili told France’s L’Argus.
…upon U-turn
In a newly published interview with Britain’s Auto Express, though, Ficili said the downturn in electric vehicle sales and Stellantis’ U-turn on its EV policy has left the brand with no option but to completely re-engineer both models, delaying their introductions by at least two years.
As such, the current Giulia will be 13 years old by the time its replacement arrives, while the Stelvio will be 12 years old – both still being in their first generations.
At the same time, the Giorgio platform, which underpins both the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L, Maserati Grecale and GranTurismo, will soldier on for another two years after being reported in 2021 as facing the axe.
“We are changing our path because we were imagining Alfa Romeo’s future was electric-only, to respect the rules coming from Brussels,” Ficili said in response to the combustion ban’s overturning in December.
“We need to change everything. We need to go from only-BEV to all the other powertrains. You can imagine what it means we need to change: to reinvent platforms, electronic architectures, connectivity of the car, not only for Alfa Romeo but all the [Stellantis group] brands”.
New platform, but V6 staying
Confirming the STLA Large platform as having been set aside for the Giulia and Stelvio, Ficili said the architecture would be revised to, additionally, accommodate the twin-turbo V6 instead of swapping it for the twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight-six Hurricane that powers the Jeep Wagoneer, Grand Wagoneer, Ram 1500 and Dodge Charger in the United States.
At the same time, moving to a platform that has underpinned the latter since last year will also see a move to plug-in hybrid propulsion, despite the recent axing of Jeep’s 4xe models and delay in the range-extending Ram 1500 Ramcharger in the States.
“We [had] imagined to close Giulia and Stelvio but we decided to go ahead until the end of 2027. There was an investment to respect the regulation, but now the car is okay,” Ficili said.
More updates coming?
Locally, the Giulia and Stelvio are likely to receive more updates at some stage, as, unlike in Europe, the older 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol is still being offered below the V6 on the respective Veloce models.
Priced below the all-electric Junior, stickers for the Giulia range from R1 153 900 to R2 333 900, and from from R1 312 900 to R2 545 900 for the Stelvio.
NOW READ: Alfa Romeo sets record straight on arrival of next Giulia and Stelvio
