Alfa Romeo is about to say goodbye to the current Stelvio and Giulia, including their hot twin-turbocharged V6-powered Quadrifoglio flagships.
Production of the Giulia Quadrifoglio will end on March 31, 2025, followed by the Stelvio Quadrifoglio on April 30.
Subsequently, production of all remaining petrol-powered Stelvio and Giulia variants will reportedly cease on May 31.
The news was contained in a recent memo from Alfa Romeo to its Italian dealers, which was first published on Reddit and then reported by Mopar Insiders this week.
“We inform you that Alfa Romeo has provided for the gradual elimination of petrol engines available on Giulia and Stelvio starting from the end of March,” said the memo in Italian.
An end date isn’t listed for diesel-powered variants, which haven’t been sold in Australia for several years.
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Alfa Romeo Australia told CarExpert it was “business as usual” for both mid-sized models locally, and that the company continues to order both Giulia sedans and Stelvio SUVs ex-factory until further notice, and has enough existing dealer stock available for the rest of this year.
Last year Alfa Romeo sold just 190 examples of the Giulia in Australia (up 3.3 per cent on 2023), along with 125 Stelvios (down 25 per cent), and their axing would leave the fabled Italian auto brand with only the Tonale small SUV and the upcoming Junior light SUV.
However, replacements for both models will be forthcoming, with a second-generation Stelvio previously confirmed to appear in the second half of this year, followed by a new Giulia in 2026.
Previous reports suggested Alfa Romeo would reveal the next-generation Stelvio on June 24, marking the famous Italian brand’s 115th anniversary, but we understand it will now debut in Italy later this year so the new Stelvio won’t arrive Down Under until next year.
We expect final editions of both the existing Giulia and Stelvio to become available here before they’re axed.
The next Giulia and Stelvio were both planned to be exclusively battery-electric vehicles, but earlier this year Alfa Romeo backflipped on its plan to become an EV-only brand by 2027 following backlash from its US dealers.
The next-generation models are now expected to be also offered with petrol and hybrid power.
For reference, the Tonale is a petrol and plug-in hybrid model, and while the Junior (nee Milano) will be Alfa’s first EV, it’s expected to be launched here with mild-hybrid power.
Based on the same STLA Small (eCMP2) platform as the Jeep Avenger and Fiat 600 (not sold here), the Junior was planned to be Alfa’s final combustion-powered model.
At this stage it’s unclear which petrol, hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrains the next-gen Stelvio and Giulia will be available with, but both models will be based on the Stellantis group’s new STLA Large platform, which can support an 800V electrical architecture, ‘STLA Brain’ software system, and STLA SmartCockpit user interface.
The new Stelvio will be the first STLA Large-based vehicle to be produced and sold in Europe and, like their predecessors, both the next-generation Stelvio and Giulia will be built at the same Cassino factory halfway between Rome and Naples.
No details have been announced about their electric powertrains, but Stellantis has previously confirmed the STLA Large architecture can house batteries with capacities between 85 and 118kWh, and support both single-motor rear-wheel drive and multi-motor all-wheel drive configurations.
The first production vehicle based on the STLA Large architecture, the Dodge Charger Daytona, is already available in the US with a number of all-electric drivetrains, including the top-shelf 500kW/850Nm Scat Pack.
This has a claimed 0-60mph (0-97km/h) time of 3.3 seconds, despite incorporating only a 400V electrical architecture, weighing almost 2650kg and measuring 5.25m long.
However, the American muscle car will soon also become available in North America with the Hurricane 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six petrol engine from the 2025 Ram 1500, which produces up to 400kW in high-output form.
It’s unclear if this engine could make its way to the next Giulia and Stelvio.
To recap, Alfa Romeo’s current Giulia was launched in 2015, followed by the closely related Stelvio in 2016, and both models are currently available with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol outputting 206kW of power and 400Nm of torque in Ti and Veloce form.
The range-topping Quadrifoglio versions pack a 375kW/600 2.9-litre twin-turbo petrol V6, which propels the BMW M3-rivalling rear-drive sedan to 100km/h in a claimed 3.8 seconds and the all-wheel drive SUV to 100km/h in a claimed 3.9s.
Ti, Veloce and Quadrifoglio versions of both models continue to be available in Australia, where a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine is no longer available despite continuing in Europe.
Following the local launch of facelifted mainstream variants in May 2023 and the upgraded Quadrifoglio in December 2023, a series of special-edition versions of both models were released last year, including the Tributo Italiano in February, the Edizione Carbonio in November and the Super Sport in May.
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