For several years, many thought that’Alfa Romeo had definitively abandoned the compact segment. With the discontinuation of the Giulietta in 2020, the Italian brand seemed to have turned the page on these models, which have long represented the heart of its DNA in Europe. But finally, Stellantis has officially confirmed what many were still hoping for: Alfa Romeo is preparing the return of a compact heir to the 147 and Giulietta. And now things are starting to get a lot more interesting.
Alfa Romeo finally returns to the compact segment
It's important to understand what this announcement means for Alfa Romeo. For decades, the 145, 147 and Giulietta have been essential models for the brand. They were the ones that enabled the brand to win customers from German benchmarks such as the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series. For six years, Alfa Romeo had deserted this market, leaving only the Tonale to occupy the C segment. However, a number of in-house projects had long been underway to fill the gap.
If you follow Alfa Romeo news on Italpassion, you've probably already heard of the company. A2H and A2X projects. The first was a true compact hatchback, in other words a new Giulietta. The second was a C-segment crossover, sometimes nicknamed the «Alfetta». Jean-Philippe Imparato himself had on several occasions mentioned his desire to bring back the name in the Alfa Romeo range. The name was registered in March 2023.
But these projects seemed complicated to bring to fruition. At the time, they were based on the STLA Medium platform, and Alfa Romeo was not entirely convinced that this architecture was suitable for this type of vehicle. Today, the situation seems to have changed.
A new STLA One platform at the heart of the project
The first important element concerns the technical platform. The future Alfa Romeo compact car will not be based on the STLA Medium after all, but on the the new STLA One platform. This architecture is to become the main basis for future Stellantis models in the B, C and D segments in Europe. The Group's objective is clear: to streamline the development of future models while offering multi-energy vehicles.
In concrete terms, this future Giulietta should measure between 4 and 4.5 meters in length and offer several types of powertrain: internal combustion, hybrid and 100 % electric. As with the Group's other brands, the company is returning to a much more pragmatic strategy, giving customers the freedom of choice.
Thermal, hybrid, electric: the big questions surrounding engines
For the time being, Stellantis remains tight-lipped about the exact engine options. Will this future Giulietta still use the famous 1.2L PureTech (still found in the new Lancia Gamma in 145 hp version)? Could Alfa Romeo get back the Italian FireFly engines with eDCT transmission? Will a new 1.6L hybrid make an appearance? No official information has yet been released.
As far as the electric versions are concerned, however, several elements already seem fairly obvious. The motors should continue to come from Emotors, the joint venture already used in several Stellantis models. As for batteries, it would be logical to imagine LFP technologies from the future CATL-Stellantis plant in Spain.
It remains to be seen how far Alfa Romeo will be able to differentiate the handling and driving feel of this future compact car. Because that's where it's all going to come down.
The big challenge: avoiding the «Stellantis clone» effect»
This is probably THE big question surrounding the future Giulietta. For several years now, Stellantis has been criticized by many critics for standardizing too much across its brands. However, with the widespread use of the STLA One platform, many of the Group's future European cars will be technically very similar.
So the question is simple: will this future Alfa Romeo be a real Alfa Romeo... or just a cousin in a different outfit? The new Director of European Design, Gilles Vidal, seems intent on answering that very question. He recently explained that Stellantis wanted to « do away with models that are too close to one another », recalling a very important phrase: «Nobody buys a Stellantis. You buy a brand.» In other words, Alfa Romeo will have to rediscover an instantly recognizable identity. And frankly, the brand doesn't have much choice.
Can Alfa Romeo really compete with the Germans?
Obviously, the title immediately brings to mind the segment benchmarks: the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series. But you also have to keep your feet on the ground. BMW will have sold over 200,000 1-Series by 2025. As for Audi, 2024 figures show over 80,000 A3s sold. Alfa Romeo, meanwhile, is evolving in a different industrial dimension. The former Giulietta sold around 40,000 units a year, peaking at around 70,000 in its best year. And finally, this would already be a very good result for the next generation.
Alfa Romeo's objective is probably no longer to beat the Germans head-on in terms of volume. The real challenge lies elsewhere: building a coherent, profitable, emotional range capable of ensuring a certain stability for the brand. And in this logic, the future Giulietta could become an extremely important component.
The Alfa Romeo range is finally taking shape
Finally, when we look at the overall Alfa Romeo product plan, we see that it follows fairly closely what has been talked about for several years.
Junior is now launched. The new Giulietta seems officially validated. The future C-SUV from the A4U project is also confirmed. As for the new Giulia and Stelvio, they may have been delayed by the strategic shift to the 100 % electric, but they are still on the cards. By the end of the decade, Alfa Romeo could be back to a much more complete and coherent range, with the Junior, this new Giulietta, the future A4U SUV, and then the next Giulia and Stelvio.
Above all, the brand finally seems to be returning to something more realistic. Yes, Alfa Romeo will remain an emotional brand. But perhaps it's also time to stop systematically comparing it to the German giants solely on volume or sales performance.
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Great news!
I'm really hoping for a successful project. They have the time to concoct a superb car worthy of the real Alfa. I like the Junior, but you can tell it's not finished. I'm not happy with a lot of the details (especially the interior). There's no excuse here. On the engine side, you need at least the 1.6 hybrid. Anything less is not credible for a Premium brand. Can't wait for more news!
A future Giulietta is good news. Provided there are some interesting hybrid engines, and some character. Please, not the PureTech, nor any other Peugeot engine.
I suppose it's humorous to talk about the «famous 1.2 L PureTech engine»?
It looks good, but we know: until we see it in the showroom, we don't believe in it xD
But it's a good idea (it's about time) to show a coherent range, besides, I've never understood why Alfa (especially) don't keep the names and a «logical» design. Except for enthusiasts, it's impossible to identify with a model... Like a Golf or a 1 Series or a Yaris, which follow a logic through the decades. Now's the time to keep the names Giulia and Stelvio, if only they'd change too ^^.
This is where Alfa Romeo can beat the German models: on weight, braking feel and engaging steering. Styling, too, of course, but given the pace of model renewal, it needs to be fashion-proof and in keeping with the brand's history. Finally, I hope that the STLA One platform is not the LEAP 3.5 and that Alfa Romeo's future compact car will not be a re-bodied B05, but the result of a collaboration with Maserati teams.
STLA One is a modified CMP 2 platform. The first car to debut on STLA One is 208. This is madness!!!! Cars from « B » segment do « D » segment on one platform will not work!!!!