ICE Alfa Romeo to Electric Alfa e-Romeo in 3 years? :Comments

[G. David Felt]

Stellantis on their August 3rd Quarterly call announced Double-Digit adjusted operating income margins which will allow them to intensify their electrification of all product lines. As such Stellantis has committed $30 billion Euro's investment in electrification and software development through 2025 allowing them to target a 70% in Europe and 40% in the United States LEV or Low emission vehicle sales by 2030.

All 14 brands are committed to offering best in class electrification solutions, delivering class-leading range and charging capability. This push will be covered by four flexible global BEV-by-design platforms, scalable family of three electric drive modules and a series of standardized battery packs covering all brands and segments. These plans cover both sourcing and building of battery packs by five gigafactories in Europe and North America which will include dual battery chemistries, high energy and a nickle cobalt-free alternative by 2024 with solid state batteries planned for introduction in 2026.

What does this mean for the late CEO Sergio Marchionne and his beloved Giorgio platform that was funded by the profits of Dodge, Chrylser, Ram and Jeep? A platform that was supposedly engineered to challenge the rivals of BMW, Mercedes and Audi of Germany?

DEAD, dead after only two auto's that while well received and rated in Europe has had only average acceptance and quality in the US.

The dropping of the Giorgio platform which some had expected to be used by the next generation of cars under the American name plates is being dropped due to one glaring problem and that one is the lack of support for Hybrid / Electrification of the platform.

Yet excitement is to be expected as Stellantis has reserved the STLA Large Platform for the AWD Performance and American Muscle cars favored by the North American market. 

Yet while Stellantis has stated Alfa e-Romeo will be all electric in 2024, one does have to dig into this as we see that the current Alfa auto's actually get replaced using the new platform by Hybrids in 2022 which will carry on till 2027 as they introduce BEV in the three core markets of Americas, Europe and China in 2024.

Seems some rumors are that Alfa could bring back the GTV nameplate to be applied to a four-door coupe as a rival to the BMW i4 and Mercedes-Benz EQE.

Either way, it would seem that the Alfa brand while being a prestigious and historic brand has limited days ahead as an ICE brand and the future is for e-Romeo luxury electric auto's. In the mean time as a crossover product to BEV, the plug-in hybrid crossover called the Tonale is expected to debut in the early half of 2022.

With Stellantis having an electrification focus of having EVs equivalent to ICE by 2026, does their electrification plan and marketing make sense?

Electrification is not a “one size fits all” plan at Stellantis. Each of the Company’s 14 iconic brands is committed to offering best-in-class fully electrified solutions and doing so in a way that enhances the DNA of each brand. Stellantis revealed the following statements expressing each of the brand’s electrification approach:

 

• Abarth – “Heating Up People, But Not the Planet”
• Alfa Romeo – “From 2024, Alfa Romeo Becomes Alfa e-Romeo”
• Chrysler – “Clean Technology for a New Generation of Families”
• Citroën – “Citroën Electric: Well-Being for All!”
• Dodge – “Tear Up the Streets… Not the Planet”
• DS Automobiles – “The Art of Travel, Magnified”
• Fiat – “It’s Only Green When It’s Green for All”
• Jeep_® – “Zero Emission Freedom”
• Lancia – “The Most Elegant Way to Protect the Planet”
• Maserati – “The Best in Performance Luxury, Electrified”
• Opel/Vauxhall – “Green is the New Cool”
• Peugeot – “Turning Sustainable Mobility into Quality Time”
• Ram – “Built to Serve a Sustainable Planet”
• Commercial Vehicles – “The Global Leader in e-Commercial Vehicles”

 

Stellantis Intensifies Electrification While Targeting Sustainable Double-Digit Adjusted Operating Income Margins in the Mid-term | Corporate communications | Stellantis

Stellantis Wants Alfa Romeo To Go BEV-Only By 2027 (insideevs.com)

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[regfootball]

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/dodge-durango-suv-stellantis-profits

EV lip service.  Stellantis thriving because they know American customers want substance in their vehicles.  The includes v6 and v8 engines.  Performance models.  Size and solidity.  Making profits off ancient models like Challenger, Charger and Durango  and smart new models like Jeep Grand Cherokee L.  Different from GM, GM makes tiny cars with tiny turbo motors (except trucks and suburbans).

GM and Mary should take a hint from Jeep and Dodge and Ram and stop doing things like getting rid of 2 liter motor options from the Equinox.  

 

Edited August 7, 2021 by regfootball

[riviera74]

Stellantis is thriving?  Uh, that firm still has not rationalized their entire lineup as of NOW. 

While I would LOVE to see GM essentially bring back the Chevy SS and have a Buick/Cadillac equivalent, sadly that is not happening.  At the very least, a whole lot of turbo 4cyl vehicles can easily have those engines replaced by a GOOD v6 (think 3800 or 3900, NOT the interference 3.6 v6).  GM has essentially dumped all of their small cars because NONE of them sold in any numbers worth sustaining. 

I do agree on dumping larger engines just for MPG.  GM should dump the turbo 4cyl for a real v6 instead in most if not all models. 

[smk4565]

To convert Alfa Romeo to an all EV brand is pretty easy, they only have 2 products both of which would be due for replacement by 2024 anyway.  
 

As for the bring back V6 idea, engines will never go bigger, only smaller.  Car companies aren’t going to put any money in new engines, they are going to let the current ICE power trains run their course and kill them off.

[A Horse With No Name]

On 8/9/2021 at 8:54 PM, riviera74 said:

Stellantis is thriving?  Uh, that firm still has not rationalized their entire lineup as of NOW. 

While I would LOVE to see GM essentially bring back the Chevy SS and have a Buick/Cadillac equivalent, sadly that is not happening.  At the very least, a whole lot of turbo 4cyl vehicles can easily have those engines replaced by a GOOD v6 (think 3800 or 3900, NOT the interference 3.6 v6).  GM has essentially dumped all of their small cars because NONE of them sold in any numbers worth sustaining. 

I do agree on dumping larger engines just for MPG.  GM should dump the turbo 4cyl for a real v6 instead in most if not all models. 

Given how reliable the old 3800 V6 is, this would make sense.