Alfa Romeo Stelvio: Signal the start of Alfa’s electric era

As is known, there is a strict austerity regime in the Stellantis Group under Carlos Tavares. So far, Italian brands have suffered much less here, at least from the outside, than brands like Jeep, Opel or Citroën. The Italian character should not only be preserved through the revival of Lancia. Alfa fans can expect new models from the Stelvio and Giulia.

The Italian government is facing serious economic challenges. So people are also looking with suspicion at the headquarters of Stellantis in Paris and Hoofddorp. The cost and efficiency measures decided are likely to affect the Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands more significantly from this year. But the leadership of the Dutch brand alliance Stellantis is more committed to Alfa Romeo than was seen from Citroën or Opel, for example. The new Alfa Romeo Stelvio is coming next year; The Giulia, also delayed, will follow in 2026 – made in Italy and produced at the Cassino plant 130 km south of Rome.

Both new electric models, like the competitors of the Audi A5 / Q5, BMW 3 Series / iX3 and Mercedes C-Class / GLC, leave the assembly line on the new STLA Large platform, which is intended especially for large group cars. The two platforms STLA Large and STLA Medium are used in Europe for Italian models from Alfa Romeo and Lancia. But it’s not just the Stelvio and Giulia’s platform that’s new; Both types of middle class are not only getting new “Smart Cockpit”, but also the STLA Brain software architecture, which can be updated wirelessly (over the air). Full integration into hardware and software circuits from each other – so vehicles should be updated for a long time.

There was a problem with both models in the current generation and they were not competitive in the global premium competition with brands like Audi, BMW, Mercedes or Volvo. In addition to the main information on the digital instruments, the new generation has a curved infotainment system with, for the first time, a head-up display with night vision and digital exterior mirrors. In addition to voice and touch functionality, the vehicle’s functionality and new IT architecture should also be able to be operated using gestures and gaze, among other things. In this context, similar to competition, not only programs should be available, but online stores and payment functions should also be introduced. The STLA Brain System will use Amazon products and solutions that are currently developed specifically for Alfa Romeo vehicles.

Different drive systems can be implemented on the newly developed Large STLA platform, making the upcoming Alfa Romeo Stelvio the first electric car model to use 800-volt technology on this platform. Large STLA enables different bodies and vehicle concepts with variable wheels, height, width and ground clearances. For the Italian-flagged Stellantis transition, technologies such as advanced automatic driving, active range stabilization and terrain recognition will be available for the first time in the D and E segments. Alfa’s high battery capacity Romeo Stelvio, Giulia and later models such as Lancia Gamma (2026) and Delta (2028) should be 118 kWh and enable a charging performance of 4.5 kWh per minute.