Alexandre
The world of Alfa Romeo SUVs recently welcomed a new model, the Junior, launched a few months ago. With over 10,000 orders recorded, Junior seems to be off to a good start, even if its figures remain unchanged. twice those of Tonale over the same period in 2022. So, is this newcomer destined to conquer as much of the public as its big brothers, the Tonale and Stelvio? To assess its launch, we used the Google Trends tool, comparing Internet users' interest in the Stelvio, Tonale and Junior models from January 2016 to October 2024 in Alfa Romeo's five main markets: Italy, the United States, France, Germany and Spain.
In Italy: is Junior losing interest?
In Italy, the birthplace of Alfa Romeo, the Stelvio remains the SUV that attracted the most interest when it was launched. Research peaks in November 2016 for its presentation, then in February 2017 with press tests. The Tonale, meanwhile, reaches its first peak in March 2019, when the concept is presented, then in February 2022 when the definitive version arrives.
The Junior, first unveiled as "Milano" in April 2024, has also generated a great deal of interest. However, this interest seems to have faded since it was marketed under the name "Junior", leaving the Stelvio and Tonale at the top of the search results in Italy. This is a surprising trend, especially in Italy, Alfa Romeo's biggest market, where the Junior is relegated to third place. Note that this is the only SUV not made in Italy.
Podium in Italy :
- Stelvio
- Tonale
- Junior
United States: the Stelvio, the undisputed star of the American market
In the United States, the Stelvio is the undisputed leader among Alfa Romeo SUVs, widely acclaimed by Internet users. The Tonale captures only around 20 % of the interest generated by the Stelvio, while the Junior remains non-existent in searches for the time being, as it has not yet gone on sale in the USA. Unlike in Europe, interest in the Stelvio continues unabated.
U.S. podium :
- Stelvio
- Tonale
- Junior
France: Junior takes off
In France, trends show a similar pattern to Italy for the Stelvio, with peaks of interest at presentation and launch in 2016-2017. The Tonale, though less popular at the time of its concept presentation in 2019, arouses renewed interest in 2022 when it goes on sale. But it's the surprising Junior, which even seems to be ahead of the Tonale in terms of online interest. This signal suggests that France could well become one of Junior's most promising markets.
Podium in France :
- Stelvio
- Junior
- Tonale
Germany: growing interest in Junior
In Germany, trends are similar to those observed in France and Italy for the Stelvio. However, the Junior stands out even more, its launch in April 2024 having generated greater interest than the Tonale. Since its launch, interest in the Junior has grown steadily, and is even beginning to surpass that of the Tonale. German customers could therefore be a solid base for this model.
Podium in Germany :
- Stelvio
- Junior
- Tonale
Spain: a similar pattern to Germany
In Spain, Google trends confirm a dynamic similar to that seen in Germany. The Stelvio is still in first place in terms of searches, but the Junior follows with ever-growing popularity since its introduction, gradually overtaking the Tonale. Spain seems ready to adopt the Junior as an attractive choice in Alfa Romeo's SUV range.
Podium in Spain :
- Stelvio
- Junior
- Tonale
Junior's launch struggles in Italy but wins over Europe
In the end, the Stelvio remains Alfa Romeo's most successful SUV launch to date. Despite its good start, the Junior seems to have made less of an impression in Italy, a strategic market for the brand. On the other hand, it has been well received in France, Germany and Spain, where it is already ahead of the Tonale.
The The United States, for their part, continue to favor the Stelvio, which seems destined to maintain its position as flagship model. The Junior, currently absent from this market, may find it difficult to establish itself, given the Tonale's low sales. It will be interesting to follow this trend over the next few months, to see whether the Junior manages to consolidate its position or overtake the Tonale, particularly in Europe, and to assess the impact of the Tonale on the market. correlate this with registrations in different countries.
It's funny, I'd been thinking for a few weeks (or even months) that it would be interesting to compile search engine data to see people's interest according to the launch of different models. It would make an unstoppable argument in front of Scrooge and his team.
Here, the Stelvio completely dominates all markets, especially in the United States, of course. Just be careful not to sell the PureToc there - remember dieselgate, it's no laughing matter there.
In short, people want real Alfa Romeo.
When they're copies, they're a splash. At worst, there's little interest in markets like ours, which are fond of junk.
Exactly Sir...... we want engines, real diesel and petrol ones......not rebadged cars .....de real Alfa . it's not easy to make the tavares etc understand this ...... to hell with these individuals .
If things change, I'll go back to Alfa or even Lancia.
The Stelvio is still the best-looking and best-engined, and if France didn't have this crazy malus, it would sell better.
Now Alfa is never very good at advertising, so after the launch the vehicle is never seen again, which is also the case for the Tonale.
The ads for the Stelvio and Giulia were magnificent.
I still remember the one on the Stelvio pass, and the one on the ice rink. Works of art.
Now for the Junior we get a PSA ad: 10 seconds, the car drives straight ahead, a 3/4 shot with the LOA/LDD offer and "modern" music. Even their ads are copied and pasted.
In the end, it makes perfect sense as far as Junior in Italy is concerned.
Let Caesar have his due. Good taste in Italy.
I got to see the Junior at the Athens show...not many people around. More towards Stelvio and Giulia!!!
The internal quality of the plastics is honestly pffff! Now that the buzz is over...
Just wait, they'll be running promotions soon, because an Alfa is first and foremost a sporty car, but above all an elegant one.
Good evening Alexandre, I met with my ALFA dealership. The Junior is sold a lot to rental companies, but not a lot to Alfistes.
So for me it's not sales ....
Thierry.
Not surprisingly, the Stelvio remains by far the most successful. Like the Giulia, it's a car that hasn't aged a day. No aggressive, retina-shredding design, no version that's a complete flop, all in all, a very good car.
In the U.S., the Tonale's results are probably also due to the Dodge Hornet's near-twin and its far more extensive network, so I imagine that won't help it.
And now that the PHEV moment has passed, it's too late for the Stelvio (especially as it's nearing the end of its career). The Tonale is poorly designed and finished (those door panels...), in black or not, pleasant to drive or not, it's still pure front-wheel drive, whereas the brand's character was once again premium thanks to the Giorgio platform. There's still the possibility of transforming the Tonale into a rear-wheel drive by placing a larger electric motor on the rear axle and using the internal combustion engine as a generator, as Honda does. This would have the advantage of lowering emissions while increasing power and responsiveness. The future Stelvio and Guilia will be existential challenges.
Never a word about the Ypsilon and 600 launches 😔 I'm afraid they were failures!
Nothing surprising for the Stelvio, but there are still people who think the opposite, asking Alfa for generalist products... distressing.