Alfa Romeo Sticking With Combustion For Now, Confirms CEO

It's no secret that electric car demand isn't where most manufacturers thought it would be right now, and as a result, lots of manufacturers are rowing back plans they had to go EV-only. After rumours emerged last year, Alfa Romeo will be the latest company to make that change, its CEO has confirmed.

Originally, Alfa had pledged to only introduce fully-electric cars from 2027. The hybrid version of the new Junior was planned to be its last new car with any form of combustion engine, and the second-generation versions of the Stelvio and Giulia – set to arrive in 2025 and ’26, respectively, would be its first EV-only cars.

Now, though, the company's new CEO, Santo Ficili, has confirmed in a LinkedIn post that these cars will launch with hybrid versions too,

Previously, Jean-Philippe Imparato, European boss of Alfa's parent company, Stellantis, told Auto Express: 

"We will assess where we are. If the current global ecosystem does not change, [the Giulia] will be 100 per cent electric. If I see it is changing, or that I’m not matching what I want, it is not a problem to adjust with alternative powertrains.”

Although the cars were originally planned to launch as EVs only, they shouldn't be too difficult to adapt to fit a hybrid powertrain. That's because Ficili has also confirmed that the cars will be based on Stellantis' STLA Large platform, which is designed to accommodate electric, hybrid and combustion powertrains.

The same platform underpins the new Dodge Charger, which comes as both an electric car and a combustion version with Stellantis' 3.0-litre twin-turbo 'Hurricane' straight-six. It's not yet been confirmed what engine the hybrid versions of the Alfas will get.

The news that the age of combustion Alfas might not be at an end yet is likely to leave plenty of enthusiasts breathing a sigh of relief. The Hurricane engine currently offers up to 540bhp, besting the output of the current Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio, so with a bit of luck, we could be treated to some more delightful six-cylinder performance cars from Alfa.