Taking advantage of the group's financial results presentation, Stellantis revealed plans for the electrification of its three premium brands — Alfa Romeo, DS and Lancia — and, as expected, the goals are quite ambitious.
Let's start with Alfa Romeo. One of the brands that generates the most passion for the group, it will be in 2027 that we will see the historic transalpine construction company turn its back on combustion engines and become 100% electric.
A decision that will affect its main markets — Europe, North America (USA, Canada, Mexico) and China — but taking into account that the other markets where Alfa Romeo is sold do not translate into expressive volumes, it could definitely mean the farewell of the Italian brand to combustion engines.
At the base of future Alfa Romeo electrics will be, above all, the STLA Medium platform. Scheduled for 2023 (with a new generation Peugeot 3008), this platform is capable of housing batteries between 87-104 kWh, announcing a maximum range of 700 km, it will be the “backbone” of Stellantis' premium brands.
Before a 100% electric Alfa Romeo, we will see, from 2022, its first electrified model, the Tonale. A C-segment SUV that will feature plug-in hybrid powertrains.
DS and Lancia follow suit
Like Alfa Romeo, DS Automobiles and Lancia are also going to invest heavily in electrification. However, this bet will not be as strong as in the case of the Milan brand.
In the case of DS, there is still no date for the official farewell of the combustion engines. But from 2024 onwards one thing seems to be guaranteed: all new DS to be released will be exclusively electric. This does not mean the immediate end of combustion engines, as models that have them — like the new DS 4 — will continue to have them available until the end of their commercial lifecycle.
Finally, with regard to Lancia, the brand that is currently limited to marketing Ypsilon in the Italian market, but which is preparing to launch three new models, will be fully electrified as early as 2024. In other words, its range will not be composed only for electric models as for hybrid models. The launch of exclusively electric models starts only in 2026.
Fiat back to segment B
Also in the field of novelties revealed during the presentation of the financial results of Stellantis, the highlight is the (again) confirmed return of Fiat to the B segment. Considered for a long time as the “eternal” queen of the B segment, the return to the segment will take place in 2023 , thus seeking to regain the prominent place in the segment that models such as the 127, Uno or Punto allowed it to achieve.
Little is known about the model that will take the place vacated by Punto three years ago and for which the “South American” Fiat Argo was even appointed.
However, everything points to a return to the segment with a crossover — produced in Tychy, Poland, where the 500 and Ypsilon are made today, as announced a few months ago — and it wouldn't be a big surprise if the Fiat's new B-segment were the production version of the Centoventi concept unveiled at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show.
What we already know is that it will use the versatile CMP (ex-PSA) platform, the same as the basis for the Peugeot 208 or Opel Mokka, which opens up the possibility of having a 100% electric variant.