Alfa Romeo looks to Tonale to arrest its sales slide

Following a mandate by Stellantis chief Carlos Tavares that its vast stable of brands has 10 years to prove itself or it’s finished, Alfa Romeo remains determined to achieve some kind of sales ‘metamorphosis’ – starting with the Tonale premium small SUV – despite years of failed attempts.

In pure percentage terms, if you believe the European PR spin then things are starting to turn around for the revered 123-year-old Italian brand on the continent.

During the first quarter of 2023, Alfa Romeo doubled its European market share and increased sales by 136 percent, though without quoting actual numbers, the scale of those improvements remains a mystery.

Globally in the first quarter, Alfa Romeo’s volume grew 64 percent compared to the same period in 2022.

But in Australia, the delayed arrival of the facelifted MY23 Giulia/Stelvio and the all-new Tonale has reduced the brand to its lowest sales volume in 25 years – achieving just 181 sales from January to May in 2023 (compared to 236 sales for the same period the previous year).

According to Stellantis Australia’s corporate communications manager Alison Van Den Dungen, “at this point in time there’s absolutely no reason to be walking away from Alfa Romeo in Australia. We’re bringing out some really exciting product and that’s really going to revitalise the brand here, if anything.

“I definitely don’t think that now is the right time to be talking about us leaving,” she said.

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2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia

Only time will tell whether Australian buyers believe the Tonale Hybrid hype.

Marketing wise, Alfa Romeo Australia has been commissioning billboards on major freeways, airports and shopping centres to raise awareness of its new Tonale small SUV, combined with social-media campaigns on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok in an attempt to introduce a new audience to the brand. Only time will tell whether Australian buyers believe the Tonale Hybrid hype.

Going forward, Alfa Romeo will be transitioning to multiple electric vehicles in its line-up by 2027, with the next-generation Giulia and Stelvio finally embracing the electrification process started by the Tonale Hybrid and forthcoming Tonale PHEV plug-in hybrid. But that doesn’t make its current standing in Australia appear any rosier.

After achieving 2513 annual sales here in 2002, it took Alfa Romeo another 11 years to approach that number – 2373 sales in 2013, followed by 2498 sales in 2014. But the brand has sold less than 1000 cars a year since 2018 and managed just 571 sales in 2022.

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2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio

Alfa Romeo’s Australian bosses remain convinced that this dire situation can be turned around.

Yet with so much capital being invested in salvaging this iconic Italian brand – thrusting it towards inevitable electrification as fast as possible – Alfa Romeo’s Australian bosses remain convinced that this dire situation can be turned around.

“It’s a really exciting time for not only Alfa Romeo but all of the Stellantis brands here in Australia and around the world, as we embark on this new journey, this new venture towards EV across every single vehicle in the entire family,” said Ms Van Den Dungen.

“There’s so much exciting product coming out. They’re obviously looking at every single product across the board and where that fits and where its future lies [but] it’s a really exciting time for us,” she said.