If you want a new Dodge Charger with Italian flair, you'll have to wait until 2026 when the new Alfa Romeo Giulia debuts. In an interview with our colleagues at Motor1 Italy, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean Philippe Imparato shared preliminary details about the future sports sedan. It'll ride on the same STLA Large platform as the 2024 Charger but with a radically different design.
Speaking with the Italian press at an event held in Arese at the Alfa Romeo Museum, the company's head honcho says the design is locked in. They've been working on the car's styling for the last two years and we're being promised the result is nothing short of exceptional: "What we designed is a bomb, we couldn’t finalize the style of this car without being absolutely in love with it. And now we are!"
The new Giulia will be built alongside the Stelvio SUV, with both vehicles to be manufactured at the factory in Cassino. Alfa Romeo told us the Stelvio will be the first to go on sale at some point in 2025, followed about a year later by its sedan counterpart. We asked Imparato how Stellantis is going to separate the new Giulia from the Charger. Alfa Romeo's head honcho told us the STLA Large platform offers great flexibility in terms of overall length, wheelbase, width, height, etc.
It remains to be seen whether the next Giulia will stick to the traditional three-box sedan formula or will adopt a swoopy fastback silhouette as previously hinted at by company officials. If the latter is what Alfa Romeo has in mind, the shape could echo other Stellantis products like the Peugeot 4008 and Citroën C5 X.
Although there have been reports about Giulia and Stelvio going electric-only, that's not true. The STLA Large platform has been conceived to accommodate both combustion engines and electric drivetrains—as demonstrated on the new Dodge Charger. Consequently, the two Alfa Romeo models will come with ICE and EV power, plus a combination of both with a hybrid setup.
By 2027, Alfa Romeo will have electric versions of all models. The Milano small crossover will get the ball rolling on April 10, the Giulia and Stelvio will get zero-emission setups in the next couple of years, and a bigger SUV could follow in the latter half of the decade. Alternatively, Imparato suggested it might be a large aero-optimized sedan, but a final decision won't be taken until the end of this year. Whichever model gets the green light, it won't go on sale before 2028.
Alfa's top brass also touched on reviving the Duetto moniker for a compact electric car, potentially a coupe and/or a convertible: "Alfa Romeo is the only brand that is capable of making a car costing €30,000 up to €2 million. You can't just make up a Duetto. But if you make a C-segment [car] you can make a Coupe or Spyder version that would be a great thing to do. The sound of silence."
If we look at the sales numbers, Alfa Romeo is on the right track as shipments grew by 30 percent in 2023. Since the entry-level Milano is hitting dealers later this year, 2024 is shaping up to be an excellent year as well. With the new Stelvio (2025) and Giulia (2026) coming along, the second part of the decade could see Alfa blossom into a true rival for the German trifecta.
When FCA and PSA merged, Stellantis promised to keep all 14 brands underneath its corporate umbrella by investing for 10 years. Alfa Romeo received a major cash influx to revamp its lineup, and the same is happening to other troubled Italian brands such as Maserati, Fiat, Lancia, and Abarth. Even the French luxury marque DS Automobiles is sticking around for the time being.
