Alfa Romeo Tonale delayed over poor hybrid tech

The make-or-break Alfa Romeo Tonale has been hit with new delays that will push its launch back into 2022 after the car-maker's own CEO declared it wasn't ready.

According to sources speaking to newswire Automotive News, newly instated CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato personally halted plans to launch the Italian BMW X1 and Audi Q3 rival because he was not satisfied with the performance of the plug-in hybrid derivative.

Ex-Peugeot CEO Imparato, who's only been Alfa's CEO since January 2021 following FCA's merger with PSA to form Stellantis, is reported to have told engineers and product planners that the plug-in hybrid version should deliver better performance.

Since Alfa Romeo has not released any technical details for the Tonale it's not known what specifically Imparato is referring to. But the small SUV was expected to come with the same plug-in hybrid powertrain as the Jeep Compass 4xe.

In Europe, the Compass 4xe has a choice of 140kW and 177kW combined outputs from a front-mounted 1.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine and a 44kW electric motor on the rear axle.

The combustion engine offers 96kW or 133kW tunes – both with 270Nm – and the electric motor produces 44kW/250Nm.

Driving via a six-speed automatic transmission, this set-up means the Compass runs as front-, rear- or all-wheel drive depending on the mode.

The electric motor is fed by an 11.4kWh and 400-volt lithium-ion battery pack mounted under the rear seats that, in pure-electric mode, give the small SUV a maximum zero-emissions range of around 50km and a top speed of 130km/h.

Against the clock, the most powerful version takes 7.5 seconds to complete the 0-100km/h dash.

It's not known what happens next for the Tonale, but industry experts said small tweaks could knock back the launch by at least three months while major re-engineering could see a year drift by before its launch.

When PSA bought Opel, the Corsa supermini was swapped from a GM platform to a PSA architecture and powertrains, with engineers effectively forced to start from scratch.

Currently the Tonale sits on FCA's Small Wide LWB 4x4 platform that also underpins the Jeep Compass. It's not known how long it would take to swap over to the PSA-developed CMP platform, but if it did, the entry Alfa would have the added bonus of being able to offer buyers a full pure-electric version.

With delays likely to push the Tonale's launch now to 2023 at the earliest, the small Alfa SUV has long been seen as the car that could turn around the Italian car-maker's fortunes Down Under.

With the Giulietta hatch and niche 4C sports car set to be discontinued, the brand only has the slow-selling Stelvio and mid-size Giulia sedan to support it.

In 2020, Alfa Romeo sold just 734 cars – 157 less than the year before.