Second-Gen Stelvio on Hold as Alfa Romeo 'Reworks' EV Plans

The Drive

a day ago

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The Alfa Romeo Stelvio has been with us for eight years now. It landed shortly after the brand's reintroduction to North America in 2015, and while it's outsold the Giulia sedan practically every year since it came out, the Stelvio never really provided the push expected from the company's first SUV. Naturally, people are looking to the next generation to right the ship, but if comments from Alfa leadership today are any indication, we could be waiting a while until we see it.
During a Q&A session about the automaker's collaboration with the Luna Rossa sailing team this morning, Santo Ficili, CEO of Alfa Romeo and Maserati, briefly fielded a question about the upcoming SUV.
'You know, the transition throughout electrification is not going with the speed we were imagining last period, so now we are changing, totally, our path following the specific requests of our customers,' Ficili said. 'So the future of Alfa Romeo will be not only BEV, but we are working to evolve also [the internal combustion] engine powertrain, PHEV, and MHEV. In this sense, we are reworking our plan. As soon as we will be ready, of course we will launch also the new Stelvio.'
This isn't much of a surprise, though it is somewhat disappointing. Last month, Reuters reported that the new SUV's launch had been postponed, citing 'tepid demand for electric vehicles.' Alfa was expected to lead with a battery electric version of the Stelvio, which will be built on Stellantis' STLA Large platform, just like the Dodge Charger. Taking that report and Ficili's comments together, it sounds like Alfa has decided to give itself more time to introduce a hybrid model concurrently with the EV. Reuters' sources told the news agency that the second-gen Stelvio now likely won't begin deliveries until September 2026 at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the current Stelvio has certainly begun to show its age. It still looks solid, especially thanks to a refresh last year, but it's struggling to keep pace with the latest competitors from Alfa's luxury rivals in Germany. Unfortunately for the storied Italian automaker, its savior isn't exactly waiting in the wings.
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