After years of making promises to do so, legacy Italian automaker Alfa Romeo is making good on its word to finally start delivering some BEVs… starting next year. Today, Alfa Romeo teased its first-ever Sport Urban Vehicle (SUV), which will be called the Milano – a tribute to its native land. Here’s what we know so far.
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automaker with over a century of experience, particularly in motorsports and racing. However, its current task is to paint itself as a luxury car manufacturer. The brand has seen its fair share of ups and downs in its 113-year history and currently operates as a sub-brand of Stellantis.
For the last three decades, the automaker’s sales have been down overall, so to combat this, company CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato announced the automaker will launch a new model every year between 2022 and 2026, vowing to go entirely electric by 2027.
That journey hasn’t gone according to plan so far, as its first “electrified” offering – the Tonale plug-in hybrid- faced several delays before finally launching in the US market in 2022. Despite the automaker’s all-electric transition sitting a mere three years away, we still have not seen an all-electric option. Unless you count the 33 electric Stradale supercars, it’s currently developing.
Looking ahead, the automaker works to deliver larger, more luxurious models to create a greater presence in the US to compete with companies like BMW. Alfa Romeo also promised larger electric SUVs for US customers – the first of which will debut in Italy this spring.
Today, we’ve learned that Alfa Romeo’s first electric SUV will be called the Milano.
Alfa Romeo’s first SUV will be called the Milano
Alfra Romeo posted the teaser image seen above, unveiling the model name of its first all-electric offering alongside a date we can expect to see it in full – April 2024. Named after the Italian city of Milan, where Alfa Romeo was founded, the Milano will be the automaker’s first entry in the B-Segment of Europe – the largest in the market.
While this will be Alfa Romeo’s first BEV, the SUV will later come as a hybrid combustion version. That being said, the Milano is expected to be the final Alfa Romeo to come in a combustion variant before the Stellantis sub-brand goes 100% electric. Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato spoke to the announcement of the Milano SUV and what it represents for the future of the brand:
With the arrival of Milano in 2024, Alfa Romeo completes a line-up capable of meeting the desires of all our enthusiasts and much more. Milano is intended as a symbolic ‘welcome back’ to all our Alfisti fans. As owners of the Giulietta and Mito, they have been waiting to confirm their love for Alfa Romeo. It also serves as a ‘welcome’ to anyone looking for a unique sporting experience in this segment and the distinctive beauty of Italian design.
Milano is the first milestone in the brand’s transition process to electric and, like the Tonale, has the important task of further strengthening Alfa Romeo’s global presence.
Here’s what Alfa Romeo’s production pipeline looks like for the next three years as part of its “from 0 to 0” strategy, which includes the official debut of the electric SUV as its next milestone:
- 2024 – Debut of the first 100% electric Alfa Romeo Milano SUV
- 2025 – Unveiling of the first Alfa Romeo vehicle to arrive exclusively 100% electric
- 2027 – The Alfa Romeo range becomes a 100% electric brand
The automaker reports that 2023 global sales are up 34% compared to 2022 (up to November), led by an encouraging 53% increase in sales throughout the EU. All eyes will be on Milan in April 2024 to see what Alfa Romeo brings to the table with its first all-electric offering.
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