Giulia's van is a success… in virtual and/or coffee discussions. The recent news about the end of the Giulietta, which will end production this year with the Tonale (a crossover/SUV) as a replacement, was enough to revive this discussion, among others that occur uninterruptedly about the destinations of such a desired brand, but constantly struggling with its own sustainability.
Just remember that the dying Lancia, who only markets Ypsilon in Italy, outsold all Alfa Romeo in Europe in 2019…
It is a unanimous opinion, or so it seems, that it was a mistake on the part of the brand (yet) not to have launched a Giulia van — and for the moment, it seems, it will not launch it, at least for this generation. After all, would it really make such a difference to Alfa Romeo's fortunes to have a Giulia van? Or is it just the wishes and desires of the brand's fans coming to the fore?
We can analyze this question from two points of view. A first, more personal, and a second, more objective, from a business point of view.
So, personally, and being a fan of the sedan, I couldn't help but be in the field of “pro” Giulia's van. Combining all that Giulia is good at with the added versatility of a van seems like a winning combination. How come you haven't released it yet when you seem to be asking for one? Furthermore, we Europeans have a strong appetite for vans and are even, in several ranges, the best-selling bodywork.
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The argument in favor gets more shaky when we look at Giulia's van topic under the raw nature of the numbers and, putting personal preferences aside, we end up (at least) understanding Alfa Romeo's decision not to do it.
reasons
First, even if there were a Giulia van it wouldn't automatically mean more sales — which are pretty modest anyway. The risk of cannibalization would always be high, and in Europe we could see a substantial part of sedan sales shift to the van — the same happened with the successful 156, for example, which got a van three years after its launch without having been reflected in the sales volume.
Second, “blame” the SUVs — who else could it be? SUVs are a dominant force these days, much bigger even than in 2014, when we learned about the first of several Alfa Romeo turnaround plans from the ill-fated Sergio Marchionne, FCA CEO at the time. And at that time there was no Giulia's van planned.
In its place would be an SUV, which we now know as Stelvio, for all intents and purposes, Giulia's “van”. Identical decision taken, for example, by Jaguar after launching the XE, which was supplemented with an F-Pace.
In hindsight, it seemed like the right decision, regardless of our opinion of SUVs. Not only is the sale price of an SUV higher than that of a van — therefore, higher profitability for the brand per unit sold — but it has a higher sales potential.
Let's remember that vans are essentially a European phenomenon, while SUVs are a global phenomenon — when it comes to channeling funds into the development of new products to fuel a global expansion of the brand, they would certainly bet on models with the greatest potential for sales and return.
Furthermore, even in Europe, the last bastion of vans (the “Old Continent” absorbs 70% of all van sales), are also losing the war against SUVs:
The scenario is not gloomy because the European markets further north and east are still buying vans in large numbers. Fortunately, among them is Germany, the biggest European market. Were it not so, and we would have already seen a reason similar to what happened with the MPV.
Thirdly, the usual problem for Alfa Romeo in particular, and the FCA in general: funds. Marchionne's ambitious plan for Alfa Romeo meant the development of a platform from scratch (Giorgio), something necessary but, as you can imagine, not cheap — even the very successful Ferrari spin-off had to contribute to finance the relaunch from Alfa Romeo.
Even so, the room for maneuver was always limited and it simply wasn't possible to do everything. Of the eight models foreseen in that first plan of 2014, which also included a successor to the now finished Giulietta, we only obtained two, the Giulia and the Stelvio — little, very little for Alfa Romeo's ambitions.
Finally, in the last plan we know for the brand, at the end of October last year, it was revealed that in the future (until 2022) of Alfa Romeo there will only be room for one more SUV. No vans, direct successor to the Giulietta, or even a coupé…
As much as I'd like to see a Giulia van, or even a new coupe or a Spider, we first need a strong and healthy Alfa Romeo (financially). In a brand that moves as much emotion as Alfa Romeo, it will have to be the coldest and most brutal rationality to lead its destiny… Apparently synonymous with more SUV.