Next generation Giulia won't continue with the sedan bodystyle. Image: Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo has provided more details on the long overdue replacement for the Giulia, confirming that it will become a crossover when it debuts in 2026.
Officially confirming remarks made nearly a year ago, the second generation Giulia will be predated by the all-new Stelvio due this year, though, the change in bodystyle comes as a surprise.
Set to be positioned above the Tonale and, by extension, the Junior, the Giulia will also change tactics in retaining the option of a combustion engine instead of going fully electric as previously believed.
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This as the brand had been expected to adopt an electric-only policy by 2027, as per parent company’s Stellantis announcement two years ago that all of its brands in Europe would omit internal combustion motivation entirely before 2030.
Addressing lagging sales in Europe and, in particular, North America, Alfa Romeo boss for North America Chris Feuell said Milan has decided upon a so-called multi-energy strategy involving both EVs and combustion engines going forward.
“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,” Automotive News quoted him saying.
The shift in powerplants will, initially, not apply to the Stelvio, which will debut around July solely as an EV based on the STLA Large platform, which supports both electric and hybrid propulsion.
In confirming the Stelvio, as well as a hybrid module being worked on, new Alfa Romeo boss, Santo Ficili, who replaced Jean-Philippe Imparato last year, said while the Stelvio and Giulia would continue to use the same platform, a “new design and a new type of bodywork” would be used for the latter when its wraps come off next year.
“We will launch the new Stelvio at the end of 2025. And in 2026, we will launch the new Giulia. [Guilia’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 in an extensive interview.
A move that will take Stellantis’ crossover-style vehicle count to three after the Peugeot 408 and Citroën C5 X, the Giulia’s retention of a combustion engine coincides with the prolonging of the 2.9-litre bi-turbo V6 engine passed 2025.
Back in 2023, Imparato stated that the Ferrari-made bent-six used in the current Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde (QV) and Stelvio Quadrifoglio will be updated to meet European emissions standards following the European Union’s relaxing of certain requirements months before.
Meanwhile, Ficili also poured cold water on the Giulietta returning as a hatchback alternative to the Junior, telling L’Argus, “honestly, at the moment, I don’t see a future for a Giulietta because there is no demand.
“I’ve had 20 Giuliettas in my life and it’s a fantastic car, even now. But we have to follow market demand and customers want SUVs. And we have to sell cars”.
At present, no final details surrounding either the Stelvio or Giulia are known, though expectations are that more will soon emerge based on the former’s now-approved time of reveal.
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