Alfa Romeo Junior is no longer enough to save the brand... and the Tonale restyling has no effect on sales.

Registration figures Alfa Romeo from January to May 2026 confirm a trend that has already been apparent for several months: the brand is still going through a difficult period. Despite the arrival of the’Alfa Romeo Junior, launched in 2024 and rapidly becoming the best-selling model in the range, the momentum is waning. The small SUV continues to carry the brand on its own, but it can no longer compensate for the lack of renewal of the other models.

This is all the more worrying as the restyling of the Tonale, launched in autumn 2025, However, the launch of a new range of products does not seem to have had any visible effect on sales. Meanwhile Giulia and Stelvio are still a long way off. Today, Alfa Romeo is paying the price for its slow range renewal.

We'll have to look ahead to 2027, with the arrival of the next-generation Tonale and perhaps a new compact sedan. Between now and then, the brand will also have to think about an evolution of Junior to maintain interest in its flagship model.

Italy back to pre-Junior levels

Italy remains by far Alfa Romeo's biggest market worldwide. Yet it is also the one that best illustrates the brand's current difficulties. Between January and May 2026, Alfa Romeo registered 11,356 cars there, compared with 14,244 over the same period in 2025, a drop of 20 %. A figure that brings the brand back to volumes comparable to those seen before the launch of the Junior, when the range was essentially limited to the Giulia, Stelvio and Tonale.

The situation is even more worrying when we look at the Italian sales rankings. Only one Alfa Romeo appears in the national top 50: the Junior, which occupies 38th place with 5,971 registrations over five months. All other models are absent from the ranking.

The Junior clearly saves the brand, but it's no miracle worker. The month of May 2026 is a perfect illustration of this fragility: while the Tonale managed to enter the Italian top 50 in 42nd place with 962 units, the Junior dropped out of the monthly rankings.

The United States is no longer Alfa Romeo's growth engine

When the Giulia and Stelvio were launched in the United States in 2016 and 2017, the American market had become a real growth driver for Alfa Romeo. Those days now seem long gone.

In the first five months of 2026, just 1,494 Alfa Romeos were registered in the USA. Over the same period, the brand was still regularly exceeding 4,000 units just a few years earlier. The lack of new models adapted to the American market and the aging of the range have gradually made Alfa Romeo as rare as a confidential luxury brand. Today, Alfa Romeo sells fewer cars in the United States than in France or Germany.

In Germany, Junior accounts for over half of sales

Germany also saw a sharp fall, with 2,077 registrations compared with 3,325 in the first five months of 2025, a decline of 37 %.

Of these 2,077 cars, 1,191 are Alfa Romeo Juniors. The SUV therefore accounts for well over half the brand's sales in the country. Yet even with this major contribution, registrations continue to fall. The case of the Tonale is particularly revealing. Despite its recent restyling, sales have stagnated at between 60 and 70 units per month since the beginning of the year. Under these conditions, it's hard to believe that this update has had any commercial impact.

France follows the same trajectory

France is no exception to the general trend. Alfa Romeo registered 2,271 cars there between January and May 2026, compared with 2,994 over the same period in 2025, a drop of 24 %.

The Junior alone accounts for 1,824 units, while the Tonale totals 383 registrations. The Giulia and Stelvio share the few dozen remaining sales. Once again, the Junior helps to avoid an even more complicated situation, but it's no longer enough to drive the brand forward.

Spain, Poland and Turkey in decline

In Spain, Alfa Romeo recorded 1,179 registrations, compared with 1,462 a year earlier. Of these, 934 were Juniors. It's the same story: the SUV saves volumes, but doesn't prevent the brand from declining.

The same is true in Poland, where the Junior is produced. After several encouraging years since the model's launch, growth has stalled. Alfa Romeo registered 811 cars in Poland, compared with 891 in 2025. Sales are still relatively high for the brand, but the positive momentum seems to be over.

In Turkey, the decline is also visible, with 543 registrations compared with 644 last year. Alfa Romeo is still a long way off its 2023 results, when it recorded 1,136 registrations in the first five months of the year.

Japan benefits from the launch of the Junior

Japan is one of the few markets to show strong growth. With the first deliveries of the Junior, Alfa Romeo now has 763 registrations there, compared with just 325 a year earlier, an increase of 134 %.

However, these figures need to be put into perspective. Japan remains a niche market for Alfa Romeo. By way of comparison, the brand had already registered 953 cars in the first five months of 2023. Even with Junior, volumes remain modest.

The United Kingdom, one of the few pleasant surprises

In a UK market where Chinese brands are rapidly gaining ground, Alfa Romeo manages to make headway. With 1,239 registrations in the first five months of 2026, compared with 1,109 a year earlier, the brand posted an increase of 11 %.

Better still, this result also surpasses those of 2024 and 2023. This is probably one of the only real satisfactions for Alfa Romeo this year. It remains to be seen whether this trend can be maintained for the rest of the year.

Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands: contrasting situations

Belgium follows the general trend, with 586 registrations compared with 792 in 2025. The country is thus returning to levels comparable to those seen before the arrival of Junior.

Switzerland is the exception. With 362 registrations compared with 364 a year earlier, the market remains perfectly stable. Funnily enough, Switzerland had already recorded exactly 364 registrations over the same period in 2024. We have to go back to 2023 to find a much higher level, with 580 units.

In Austria, Alfa Romeo registered 591 cars, compared with 638 last year. The result is still higher than in 2024, but still a long way from the 797 cars registered over the same period in 2023.

Lastly, the Netherlands recorded 316 registrations, compared with 457 in 2025. The decline is clear, even if the result remains higher than in 2024, when Alfa Romeo recorded just 200 registrations in the first five months.

Alfa Romeo's real problem is no longer Junior

All in all, these figures show that Alfa Romeo's problem isn't Junior. Quite the contrary, in fact. Without him, the brand would probably be in a much more critical situation. The real problem is that it's now on its own. The Giulia and Stelvio are nearing the end of their careers (which have already been extended several times...), the Tonale is not benefiting from its restyling, and no major new model has been added to the range for two years.

Junior bought Alfa Romeo some time. But in 2026, that time already seems to be running out. All eyes are now on 2027, a year that could mark the return of the product offensive with a new Tonale and, perhaps, a compact sedan capable of restoring a little momentum to a brand that needs it more than ever.

Country	january - may 2026	Evolution
Italy	11356	-20%
France	2271	-24%
Germany	2077	-37%
United States	1494	-47%
United Kingdom	1239	11%
Spain	1179	-19%
Poland	811	-9%
Japan	763	134%
Turkey	543	-15%
Austria	591	-7%
Belgium	586	-26%
Switzerland	362	-0,5%
Netherlands	316	-30%