The Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV have been around since the 2016 and 2017 model year, respectively, and were updated again for the 2024 model year. Despite their age, both remain competitive, but this won't last much longer due to a lack of electrified options. So, what does their future hold?
Speaking to Australia's CarExpert, Alfa Romeo product boss Daniel Guzzafame admitted selling both vehicles has become increasingly challenging, such as in European markets where there are significant taxes on cars with high emissions. "In certain markets now, you cannot deliver a car [that emits] 200g/km of CO2. Most people would not buy it," Guzzafame said.
The solution?
A plug-in hybrid version. However, the vehicles' rear-wheel-drive Giorgio platform was not designed to accommodate the technology. Re-engineering it to do so wouldn't be worth the high costs involved.
"If you want to have a PHEV, then we need to completely retool all of the [platform]," he said. Technically, it would have been possible to add a 48V mild-hybrid system but Alfa Romeo determined the CO2 reductions wouldn't be good enough. Therefore, electrification of any sort will have to wait until the next generation models arrive.
Unfortunately, that also means the excellent Giorgio setup will be retired, though we've known this would happen for a while now. Instead, both vehicles are expected to move over to parent company Stellantis' STLA Large setup, an architecture designed from the get-go to accommodate electrification, including pure battery electric.
Guzzafame said both would "most probably" be electric. Sedan sales continue to drop globally, but the Alfa executive made clear the brand has no intention of letting the Giulia die. "You need a car. You need a Giulia, you need a Stelvio, you need a Tonale. Then you need something bigger." It's fair to assume that "something bigger" will be an SUV, and it'll almost surely be fully electric whenever it ultimately debuts.
For now, the Giulia can be had with a choice of two excellent combustion engines: the base 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 280 horsepower and 306 lb-ft of torque, or the Quadrifoglio's Ferrari-derived 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 with 505 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque.