Rumors are not unusual in the automotive industry, to say the least. Some deserve to sit and take note of it, while others should be taken with varying degrees of salt. Some deserve to be excluded from the beginning.
The rumour presented this week comes to the presentation of a new small SUV from Alfa Romeo, which would be planned for the Geneva Motor Show, and which almost falls into the previous 3 categories at once, for a detail that gives it some credibility.
Let’s be clear: Alfa Romeo has not announced or shown what it intends to offer in Geneva. The existing report is courtesy of the Greek department of the Autoblog website.
This point of sale informs that the new SUV would position Stelvio in the style hierarchy of the Italian-American firm. Anonymous resources told website detectives that the style would be installed in a modified edition of the platform found in the Giorgio sedan. This architecture also serves as the basis for the Stelvio and Giulia styles.
If this is the case, it means that we can be waiting for a vehicle with rear-wheel drive, no doubt the all-wheel drive will be a component of the offer of optional products.
Mechanically, a 4-cylinder engine is most likely in the center of the style powertrain, but hopefully a V6 will also be available. One certainty is that adding a small style to your SUV line would allow Alfa Romeo to increase its overall sales. And if you want to succeed in your reported annual sales target of 400,000 units, the automaker wants plenty of help, and soon.
So what grain of salt do you deserve this rumor to be taken with? A little vacation in time will give us an idea. In June 2018, the presentation of the five-year plan of the FCA Group mentioned the task of expanding a small SUV under the Stelvio.
Sometimes the smoke that accompanies a position of fire takes time to manifest. In any case, we’ll know sooner, because the Media Days at the Geneva Motor Show take place in March. We also know if the new style will cross the Atlantic into our market. If we had to bet on that, we’d say yes, but that’s not a certainty.
Appendix
Since originally reporting this story, Alfa Romeo has contacted an official related to his presence at the Geneva Motor Show:
“Alfa Romeo will be at the Geneva Motor Show with all its strength with our award-winning diversity and any novelty up the sleeve. We are very happy to show everyone what will remain in the world of Italian functionality and luxury. Stay tuned on March 5 to take a look at the upcoming bankruptcy in Alfa Romeo’s legendary story.”
– Berj Alexanian, public relations manager at Alfa Romeo, North America
Stay tuned, actually.
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