Alfa Romeo plans large E-segment vehicle for U.S. expansion by 2027

TOKYO — Alfa Romeo is developing a new E-segment full-electric vehicle to expand in the U.S., CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said as he outlined technical specifications for the sporty Italian brand's lineup of zero-emission vehicles.

"We will have to be in the E-segment in North America," Imparato told Automotive News on the sidelines of the launch of the Tonale compact crossover in Japan. "We are working on that."

The brand's U.S. lineup tops out with a D-segment entry in the Giulia sedan, he said.

But to expand sales in the region, Alfa Romeo needs something bigger and all-electric. Imparato said the new entry will help Alfa Romeo achieve his goal of generating 40 percent of the brand's global sales from outside Europe by 2030, compared with just 18 percent in 2021.

The Japan debut of the mild-hybrid Tonale is part of the push into new markets. The crossover was launched in Europe last year. U.S. deliveries start in the second quarter.

In tandem with the regional diversification goal, Alfa Romeo aims to go all-electric by 2027. And the new entry for the U.S. will be full-electric and arrive around 2027, Imparato said.

He did not say what body shape the vehicle would take but said it does not need to be a crossover. The shift to EVs places a premium on aerodynamics, he said, and that opens the door to sedans or more creative twists on traditional segment archetypes.

The body shape and design of the vehicle will be fixed in the coming year, Imparato said.

Last April, Imparato said that Alfa Romeo's next flagship model will be launched by 2027 and be a full-electric crossover larger than the Stelvio. He described it as competing with the BMW X5.

The brand's first battery-electric model arrives in 2024, followed by the first dedicated EV in 2025. By 2027, Alfa Romeo intends to have only battery-electrics in the lineup, even in the U.S.

Alfa Romeo will make sportiness the hallmark of its coming EVs, the CEO said in Tokyo.

"I need to transfer the concept of performance," he said. "We will be a high-performance EV."

That means high-speed 800-volt charging, with recharging times of 18 minutes max, he said. Motor output, he added, will range from 350 to 800 hp. And, for the Quadrifoglio performance subbrand, Imparato envisioned power topping out around 1,000 hp.

Alfa Romeo sells only three nameplates in the U.S., the 4C midengine sports car, the Giulia and the Stelvio. Combined U.S. sales shrank 30 percent to 12,845 vehicles in 2022.

The Stelvio, launched in 2017, has been Alfa Romeo's top seller in the U.S. since 2018.