Alfa Romeo Stelvio to get electric replacement in 2026

1 year, 8 months ago - 6 April 2023, autocar
Alfa Romeo Stelvio to get electric replacement in 2026
SUV will share Giulia's platform and major on practicality; is twinned with a new flagship luxury saloon

An electric replacement for the Alfa Romeo Stelvio SUV will arrive in 2026, followed a year later by a Porsche Taycan-rivalling large saloon.

The follow-up to Alfa Romeo’s best-selling car in Europe – with 16,009 examples sold last year – will major on practicality and usability, CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said.

It will arrive with similar stylings to the current Stelvio and sit on parent Stellantis’s STLA Large platform, which will also be used by Alfa Romeo's new E-segment saloon.

The low-slung model, which will be signed off by the end of the year, will arrive a year after the Mk2 Stelvio. Focused on comfort and range, it will be a crucial step towards bolstering the Italian brand’s popularity in the US and China.

“If you speak about range, you speak about a sedan [saloon],” Imparato said, hinting that it will arrive with a sleek, aerodynamically optimised design that should help it net a lofty maximum range to match long-legged rivals like the Lucid Air and Mercedes-Benz EQS. 

Certainly, if it uses a 100kWh battery – as previewed by sibling brand Peugeot’s STLA-based Inception concept – a range of more than 450 miles seems feasible. 

This was backed up by Imparato, who previously suggested that the already confirmed electric replacement for the Alfa Romeo Giulia saloon, with which the pair will share a platform, would likely get a range of 435 miles on the WLTP cycle.

This would be so potential buyers would see it as a “substitute” to their current cars, not a downgrade nor a forced switch.

“We will switch in a real concrete substitution mode," Imparato previously told Autocar. "I don’t want you to suffer from anything [because of] the switch; I want you to love it.”

Given that the saloon and SUV will share a platform with the Giulia, they will most likely share its fundamental drivetrain offering too. This will start at near 345bhp, with the sportier Veloce model offering around 790bhp.

Hardcore electric variants are also feasible, as the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifolio has been confirmed to return. This will offer “around 1000hp” (986bhp) – almost double the 503bhp offered by today’s twin-turbocharged petrol V6 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. 

Imparato hinted that the two new EVs could share a production line at Alfa Romeo's factory in Cassino, Italy, but this hasn’t yet been confirmed.

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