Pictures of Alfa Romeo‘s new small all-electric SUV have been leaked online prior to it going on sale early in 2024.
The compact EV, rumoured to be called Brennero, is set to become the Italian firm’s entry-level car – although the name is yet to be confirmed.
Based on the same e-CMP platform as its Fiat 600 and Jeep Avenger Stellantis stablemates, the new EV will be the smallest model in Alfa’s lineup, positioned underneath the Tonale SUV and expected to be priced from around £35,000.
A quick study of the images reveals obvious Alfa styling traits, including the famous scudetto grille and phone-dial wheels, while we can see some shared exterior components in use between the baby Alfa, Fiat, 600 and Jeep Avenger such as the mirror caps, windshield, and door handles.
At the front, there are split LED headlights sitting below the sculpted bonnet, while a strong rear shoulder line and short overhangs help to give the small, all-electric model a bold stance.
Interior images show off a digital driver’s screen, not dissimilar to tech already in use on other Alfa models, with useful information displayed on a central readout.
Speaking to Auto Express, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato has now all but confirmed that the car due in 2024 is a downsized sibling of the Tonale, designed to give his firm a presence in Europe’s booming small SUV class.
“With Tonale, we are coming back to the C-SUV segment, which is one of the best segments in Europe,” he told us. “Next we have to complete the offer with something else that is in the best-selling segment in Europe. That will be the case in 2024.”
Imparato said he is confident that the CMP architecture – which also underpins everything from the Peugeot 2008 to the DS 3 Crossback – can be adapted enough to deliver the spirited driving dynamics expected by Alfa customers. “You will see that it will be an Alfa Romeo,” he said. “We are spending time on designing that car with the same spirit. And the driveability of the car, the performance of that car, will be driven by the tuning that we do on the Tonale. We can have the driveability of an Alfa with this type of product; I have no doubt of that.”
Electric and hybrid powertrains
The small crossover EV will use the same 54kWh battery/single electric motor setup as the Avenger, delivering 154bhp and 260Nm of torque, so it should be able to match the Jeep’s 248-mile range.
Mild-hybrid petrol engines are also expected to be on offer, although it’s not yet clear whether they’d be brought to the UK. What is more certain is that Alfa Romeo will begin phasing out ICE powertrains from 2027, leaving the ‘Brennero’ only available as an EV.
More electric Alfa Romeos
Elsewhere, Imparato also confirmed that Alfa will be the first Stellantis brand to use the group’s bespoke all-electric STLA platform tech, with a standalone electric model due in 2025 – and that a further EV will follow in 2026.
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These are likely to be successors to the Giulia saloon and Stelvio SUV, bringing both nameplates and, Alfa hopes, existing customers into the BEV era. He said, “We love Giulia and Stelvio and we have to work on those two cars. We will do it.” This supports an earlier interview with Auto Express where Imparato said, “The shape of the Giulia is fantastic, I don’t want to lose this. The car is absolutely gorgeous, so there is a future for this type of car.”
He reiterated that the firm could even revisit some of its most iconic nameplates and bodystyles in zero-emissions form, once the line-up, sales and balance sheet have been stabilised after years of under-investment. This would not be until well into the second half of this decade, he suggested.
“We will never give up dreaming,” he said, “so yes, we have projects for Spiders. But it will not be something I will be able to sell to my president [Carlos Tavares] or convince him to validate before having secured the profitability of Alfa Romeo that is positive today. We have already gone from red numbers to black, but we don’t want to go back, ever. We will never lose money any more; there is no option.
“I have to feed the customers, the Alfa Romeo network with offers in the short-term period that are at the core of the European market and at the core of the switch to carbon neutral. For me, it’s an existential question; it is not a choice-driven one.”
Now read our review of the updated Alfa Romeo Stelvio…
