Aside from the Giulia, the only new Alfa Romeo you can buy right now is an SUV, but that’s about to change because a new C-segment hatchback is in the works.
The manufacturer says its upcoming rival to the Volkswagen Golf will “build on icons such as the 147 and Giulietta”. Alfa also claimed its family hatch will also ‘combine innovation with the brand’s distinctive DNA’.
Advertisement – Article continues below
Plans for a C-segment hatchback come just a few days after the Stellantis Investor’s Day, which revealed the conglomerate’s marques would launch 110 new and updated cars globally by 2030. Two of those announced in the presentation were the Italian firm’s new C-segment SUV and a special ‘Bottega Fuoriserie project’.
Alfa also confirmed that the hatchback would be based on the newly announced STLA One platform, which has the capability to underpin models from B-segment models such as the Vauxhall Corsa, up to D-segment cars like the Peugeot 5008. It also means the hatchback has the capacity to use petrol and pure-electric power, something Alfa Romeo says it will take advantage of.
Some key elements of STLA One were announced at the Investor’s Day, such as steer-by-wire and ‘cell-to-body’ integration of the battery in the chassis for improved rigidity and packaging. The architecture also comes with ‘STLA Brain’, which is a centralised software system for items such as the infotainment and powertrain.
During the STLA One section at the presentation a model of what looked like a family hatchback Alfa Romeo appeared briefly on screen, although the firm hasn’t confirmed if this is representative of the upcoming model or indeed a potential concept car.
The hatchback should sit between the new facelifted Tonale and Alfa’s entry-level model, the Junior, providing competition not only to the VW Golf with petrol and hybrid power, but also all-electric equivalents such as the Volkswagen ID.3 and Volvo EX30.
As for the name, Stellantis (Alfa Romeo’s parent company) still holds the trademark to the Giulietta name. But whether or not we’ll see it return on an Alfa for the first time since it was axed in 2020 is still unknown.
The Junior is an Alfa Romeo that majors on design, but also makes sense in all-electric form. Check out the Auto Express Buy A Car service for an average saving of over £1,200 on Junior Electric models now.
