This means that the Tonale won’t be the last Alfa Romeo with a combustion engine under the hood as originally planned
January 27, 2025 at 08:31
- Alfa Romeo’s US boss confirmed a shift from an EV-only plan to a “multi-energy” strategy.
- Earlier reports indicated ICE-powered versions of the next-gen Giulia and Stelvio models.
- North American dealers express concern over the viability of their network amid declining sales.
Alfa Romeo has become the latest automaker to pump the brakes on its EV-only ambitions, opting for a new “multi-energy” strategy instead. This shift comes as the brand struggles to revive its North American dealer network, which has been severely impacted by sluggish sales. In the US, Alfa’s sales dropped 19% in 2024, from an already disappointing 10,898 units in 2023 to just 8,865 units last year.
Chris Feuell, the recently appointed head of Alfa Romeo North America, confirmed the pivot, noting that the change was made within the past month. “The biggest thing in our product and technology roadmap is transitioning from what was a BEV-only strategy for Alfa to one that is multi-energy,” Feuell explained.
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The Stellantis brand was supposed to have an all-electric range by 2027, with the Alfa Romeo Tonale that debuted in 2023 being the last Alfa Romeo with a gasoline option. However, the successors of the Stelvio SUV and the Giulia sedan – originally planned as EVs – will reportedly be offered in hybrid or ICE-powered versions. Both models will ride on the STLA Large platform, which is already in use under the Dodge Charger.
The Dealers Are Concerned
Following a meeting with Alfa Romeo dealers at the NADA Show on January 26, the new US boss told Automotive News: “We’ve got 110 dealers in our U.S. network, and it would be very challenging for them to survive with a BEV-only portfolio.”
Feuell admitted that the biggest concern of the US dealers is the viability of the Alfa Romeo network, due to slow sales.
According to Stellantis, Alfa Romeo sales in the US dropped by 19 percent in 2024 to 8,865 units, marking the fourth consecutive year of downward trajectory. Things were even worse for the Italian brand in the fourth quarter of 2024, with a 38 percent drop compared to the same period in 2023.
As a result, the US boss revealed that 2024 models currently account for half of Alfa Romeo’s US inventory. To sell the leftover examples by the end of Q1 2025., the company is providing strong incentives to prospective buyers.
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Feuell claims she was “very transparent” with the dealers in terms of the operational and financial performance of the network, adding “If we replicate what happened in 2024, we’ll lose a lot of dealers, and we need to rebuild the network rather than deplete it. We’re down to 110 dealers from where we were at 150.”
According to the official, their biggest priority for rebuilding the dealer network is “getting the sales back on track and improving some of the quality issues that we’ve had in the product so they can shift away from a very high mix of warranty repairs back into customer-pay maintenance and light repair work.”
During the same meeting, Feuell asked dealers whether Alfa Romeo should bring the Junior to the US market, although she didn’t reveal the outcome of the conversation.
