When Alfa Romeo introduced the updated 2023 Giulia and Stelvio in Europe last month, changes were limited to the design and digital driver display. A special Competition series was also announced, but nothing to write home about. There was no mention of any engine tweaks, and now we know why. Head of Product, Daniel Guzzafame, to the Australian magazine Car Expert the automaker has no intention of electrifying two midsize luxury cars.
Why? Because it was too expensive to engineer the Giorgio platform to accommodate a plug-in hybrid powertrain. A mild hybrid setup using 48V technology technically allows for this mid-cycle revision, but the reduction in CO2 emissions would be too small to justify the increase in the asking price.
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That brings us to the problem that Alfa Romeo is having with the Giulia sedan and the Stelvio SUV as both cars become increasingly out of reach for more and more people in the European Union. Higher taxes on polluting cars are forcing customers in EU countries to consider other models: “In certain markets now, you can’t ship a car [that emits] 200g/km CO2. Most people won’t buy it.”
Guzzafame went on to say fewer people are buying these vehicles “because there’s a tax on it because people aren’t free to move around in those cars anymore.” He specifically mentions France where the Giulia and Stelvio models come with a “tax that [beyond] what people want to spend.”
As a result, Alfa Romeo will skip the hybridization of the Giulia and Stelvio altogether. According to Guzzafame, the next-generation model arriving later this decade will “most likely” have a pure electric powertrain. That makes sense considering that Alfa has promised to only sell EVs in Enlarged Europe, North America, and China starting in 2027. Parent company Stellantis will be phasing out combustion engines in Europe by the end of the decade.
The Giulia and Stelvio won’t remain in the top lineup forever given that Alfa Romeo is gearing up a larger model slated to hit the market in 2027.
