Alfa Romeo Milano small SUV will be brand's first all-electric model

MILAN -- Alfa Romeo’s first small SUV will be called the Milano, an homage to the city where the brand was founded in 1910.

The Milano will be unveiled here in April, with deliveries of a full-electric version set to start in September, followed two months later by a mild-hybrid gasoline version. 

The battery-electric version will be Alfa's first full-electric model, although the Stellantis brand sells a plug-in hybrid version of the Tonale compact SUV. The Milano will be the last new model from Alfa Romeo to also offer a combustion variant. From 2025, all new models will be launched as electric-only, and from 2027 Alfa Romeo will sell only full-electric models.

The model was reportedly going to be called the Brennero, in keeping with current models that are named for Italian mountain passes.

Jean-Philippe Imparato, the CEO of Alfa Romeo, declined to give a volume prediction for the Milano, as well as the expected share of full-electric sales. Imparato told Automotive News Europe that Alfa Romeo is ready to sell the Milano outside of Europe if there is demand for it.

A decision whether to sell the Milano in the U.S. has not been made, but Imparato said he is confident that some  states will soon generate demand for “urban small electric SUVs.” Alfa Romeo sells the Tonale, the Giulia midsize sedan and the Stelvio midsize SUV in North America. It is also planning a large sedan by 2027.

The Milano will be built in Stellantis’ plant in Tychy, Poland, which assembles two sister models, the Jeep Avenger and Fiat 600. All models are based on the eCMP2 architecture, which permits electric and combustion variants.

It will compete in the small SUV segment, Europe’s largest, which is led by the Volkswagen T-Roc with 165,825 sales from January to October, ahead of the Toyota Yaris Cross with 148,613 sales and the Peugeot 2008 with 136,073 units, figures from Dataforce show. 

The Milano will be one of a small but growing number of small SUVs from premium brands, including the DS 3 and the Audi Q2. New entrants include the Volvo EX30, the Smart #1 and the Lexus LBX. Q2 sales were 48,072 through October; and the DS 3 registered 8,163 sales. 

The LBX, a sibling model to the Yaris Cross, is expected to sell about 25,000 units annually in Europe, Lexus executives said.

Full-electric models are losing traction in the small SUV segment. In the first 10 months overall small SUV sales grew by 15 percent to 1,818,562 units, but the pace of EVs was slower, with sales up by 12 percent to 102,718 units and a share that declined to 5.6 percent of the segment. The Hyundai Kona was the most sold electric small SUV with 30,525 units, ahead of the Opel Mokka with 24,293 and the Peugeot 2008 at 21,381 through 10 months, Dataforce figures show.

Alfa Romeo has not announced specifications and prices for the Milano. Imparato said it will compete mainly with the Smart #1 and Volvo EX30 but will beat them “in terms of handling.”