Alfa Romeo Giulia for Oz early next year

Production of Alfa Romeo's all-new Giulia may finally have begun two weeks ago – six months later than planned -- but Australians will have to wait until the first quarter of next year to see the vital new mid-size luxury sedan in local showrooms.

One of eight new models Alfa Romeo promised to release by 2018 last June, the Giulia will also form the basis of Alfa's first SUV, which is expected to debut at the Los Angeles motor show in November.

The others include two-door Spider and Coupe derivatives of the Giulia, replacements for the MiTo and Giulietta small cars, a large luxury sedan codenamed Tipo 941 and a large SUV currently known as the Tipo 962.

However, none of these models have been confirmed for production let alone release in Australia, where updates for both the MiTo and Giulietta hatchbacks are due on sale within the next 12 months, the latter in the third quarter of this year.

Full details of the Giulia line-up are yet to be confirmed, but motoring.com.au understands the 307km/h Giulia QV – complete with its 368kW Ferrari-developed twin-turbo V6 – will top a range of mainstream versions.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Australia's senior manager of product strategy, Alan Swanson, said the upcoming Giulia will deliver on the performance expectations of its buyers.

"It's going to be a more enthusiast and driver-focussed car, and we're using resources at an engineering level that are only available within our group," he said, referencing the Ferrari and Maserati tie-up.

"[They] have had a huge input into the Giulia, and that's going to be our weapon here. We're going to have a very good performance level – and that's exactly what that car's about," he emphasised.

QV variant aside, the Giulia is expected to closely reflect the pricing and specification of its German rivals, including the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. According to Swanson, it's the model mix offered by those mid-size sedans that the Giulia's will mimic.

"Obviously the big three Germans are being very successful at the moment and are the main target for us," Swanson continued.

"The very obvious spots we're going to target with the engine range compare to the premium competitors in the segment. We'll certainly have a mixture of engines as our preferred line-up, and while it will be a simple line-up, it will target the key parts of the premium segment," he added.

Alfa Romeo Australia has access to a broad range of powertrain iterations for the Giulia. Engine options developed for both the European and US markets are understood to be available for the Australian market, the list of options so far totalling three turbo-diesels, three turbo-petrol four-cylinder units and the 2.9-litre V6 twin-turbo in two states of tune (360 and 368kW).

If we look to the Giulia's key German rivals as a guide, we'd expect a mixture that favours petrol engines by a ratio of three-to-one. Output figures of the Giulia's competitors suggest the 132kW version of FCA's 2.2-litre JTDM turbo-diesel is a likely starter, as are all three variants of the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four (147, 184 and 206kW).

That mix would place mainstream versions of the Giulia in a price bracket spanning $55,000 to $90,000, while the AMG/RS/M-rivalling Giulia QV could be expected to sell for as much as $140,000.