Alfa Romeo is reportedly working on a new large-size car in the U.S. market that is said to launch in 2027.
Jean-Philippe Imparato, the CEO of Alfa, says this move is key to tailoring design for individual overseas markets, according to Reuters. He also said it’ll also help the Italian brand strengthen its position as the international premium vehicle brand in Stellantis’s portfolio.
“Our offer for a large size vehicle must fit international markets, American, Chinese, European,” Imparato said during a media call.
The company is reportedly still assessing whether this new model will be an SUV, crossover or sedan. However, Imparato said the new vehicle will probably not be a classic large SUV, like a BMW X5 or X6, which would be weird anyway because those are midsize cars.
“We want to find the right mix,” he said. “It’s a decision we will take by the end of this year”.
Even though the car will be made for the U.S. market, the company hasn’t decided just yet where it will be manufactured.
The vehicle is going to be developed in the U.S. as well, but Imparato pointed out that it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be produced in North America.
“Producing in the U.S. is not something we have decided and it is something we don’t want to decide now,” he added.
Currently, all Alfa Romeo vehicles are produced at two sites that are both in Italy.
Right now the company only has two offerings in the United States: the Giulia and the Stelvio. Size-wise, those vehicles compete with the BMW 3-Series and X3, respectively.
It’s safe to say the new “large-size” vehicle will slot in above those two.
In the second quarter of 2022, Alfa Romeo sold 1,179 Giulias (down 47 percent from 2021 Q2) and 1,904 Stelvios (down 31 percent from 2021 Q2). All in all, the company sold just 3,083 vehicles in the second quarter, which was down 39 percent from the previous year.