Alfa Romeo adds electric 4WD to boost demand for bestselling Junior
TURIN — Alfa Romeo will offer its 'Q4' four-wheel-drive system on its global bestseller, the Junior small premium, with the aim of further boosting demand.
'We expect the Junior Q4 to cover a fifth of the model's sales,' Alfa Romeo Marketing Director Christian Fiorio said at the unveiling of the variant here in Turin on March 17.
About 80 percent of customers for the Giulia midsize sedan and Stelvio midsize SUV buy the Q4 versions, while the feature accounts for about 20 percent of sales for the Tonale compact SUV, Fiorio said.
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When Alfa Romeo unveiled the Junior last April, it forecast full-year global sales of 50,000 to 70,000.
Alfa said it has received more than 27,000 orders for the Junior from 38 countries since its launch, with the full-electric version of the car accounting for 19 percent.
The Junior is Alfa Romeo's least-expensive model, with a base price of €29,900 in Italy. The starting price of the Q4 will be €37,400 in Italy.
European sales of the Junior last year were 5,251 following its market debut in September.
After two months of 2025, Alfa Romeo has sold 5,929 Juniors, making it the brand's bestseller in the region and boosting its overall European sales 29 percent to 9,859 during the period, according to figures from market researcher Dataforce.
Looking at the rest of the lineup, the Tonale's volume more than halved to 2,223 units and the aging Giulia and Stelvio accounted for a combined total of just 1,700 sales in two months.
The Junior was the No. 4-seller in Europe's small premium segment after two months, trailing the Mini hatchback (11,821), Audi A1 (9,475) and the electric-only Volvo EX30 (7,370).
The full-electric variant of the Junior was fourth in sales in the segment with 716 (12 percent of the model's total). It finished the first two months behind the EX30, Mini hatchback (3,424), Mini Aceman (3,347) and the Alpine A290 (880), according to Dataforce.
The Junior's Q4 4WD system is offered in combination with a 48-volt mild hybrid gasoline powertrain that mates a 136-hp 1.2-liter turbocharged engine with two 29-hp electric motors. The motor on the front axle is integrated into the Junior's six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (eDCT). The second motor is mounted on the rear axle together with a new multilink rear suspension.
Alfa Romeo says the Junior Q4 can deliver 4WD traction even when its 0.9-kilowatt-hour battery is depleted because, when needed, the electric motor on the front axle acts as a generator to deliver power to the rear motor. Alfa calls the system Power Looping Technology.
Stellantis also offers the 4WD system on the Jeep Avenger.
The Toyota Yaris Cross, Europe's No. 3-selling small SUV, has a similar system, which lets it provide 4WD because it has an electric motor on the rear axle.
Four-wheel drive is permanently active on the Junior Q4 variant at speeds of 0 to 30 kph (19 mph). At speeds of 30 to 90 kph, the system only engages if the front wheels lose traction. At higher speeds, the car switches to front-wheel drive only.
Alfa Romeo said that the rear electric axle helps the Junior Q4 achieve CO2 emissions of 118 grams per kilometer compared with 109 g/km from the FWD hybrid version of the car.
The Junior had a bumpy start.
Two days after its debut in April 2024, Alfa Romeo decided to change the car's name, which was originally Milano. The Italian government took exception to the car using the name of the Italian city (Milan in English) on a car that would be built in Poland.
The company argued that the Milano name was chosen as an homage to the city where Alfa Romeo was born in 1910, adding that it was designed and engineered in Italy. However, those points didn't quell the controversy. Alfa Romeo chose to rename the car to avoid further conflict.
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