Alfa Romeo Tonale to be SUV lifeline

The Alfa Romeo Tonale will be a make-or-break model for the underperforming Alfa Romeo brand in Australia, but the all-new premium small SUV might not be seen here until 2022 or later.

A competitor for the likes of the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and Mercedes-Benz GLA, the Alfa Romeo Tonale was revealed in near-final concept form in March 2019, but as carsales reported early this year it’s production has been delayed until the second half of 2021.

That means right-hand drive production and its Australian launch is likely to push out into 2022 at the earliest, leaving Alfa Romeo wholly dependent on the larger Stelvio (its only SUV) and the Giulia mid-size sedan.

The Giulietta small hatch and niche 4C coupe that are also part of the current range are set to be discontinued.

Combined sales this year have totalled just 626 units (to the end of October), down 14.5 per cent on the same period last year, but the head of Alfa Romeo in Australia (and the Chrysler and Jeep brands), Kevin Flynn, remains upbeat about the brand’s future.

“There are lots of plans, it’s exciting going forward,” Flynn said.

While Flynn wouldn’t be drawn on when the Tonale will debut in Australia or specific details, declaring that “all that will unfold in due time”, he is acutely aware of the new model’s importance as customers continue to move from passenger cars to SUVs.

“We already know about the Tonale, that’s been shown in concept form and you can work out the shape of that vehicle and can work out, across the globe, how SUVs and crossovers have become evolution of the motor car,” he said.

“An SUV-style vehicle makes a lot of sense in the way you live with it and it’s become more and more the shape of what people are looking for.”

Photographed late last year in what appeared to be final production guise, the Tonale is expected to debut the Italian brand’s new plug-in hybrid technology and will be pitched as a high-tech rival to the dominant German brands, with multiple large LCD screens, wireless phone charging, advanced connectivity features and the full gamut of autonomous driving assistants.

Another smaller Audi Q2-sized rival is also reportedly under development, giving Alfa a three-pronged SUV attack at some point later this decade.

The next product update from Alfa Romeo is arriving in showrooms right now in the form of the updated Giulia, and while this should provide a sales boost, sedan sales are declining.

Alfa Romeo Australia’s director of product strategy, Guillaume Drelon, admitted the situation was not ideal but said there will always be a place for a prestige sports sedan like the Giulia.

“In the Australian market, where 50 per cent is SUVs … passenger cars are definitely declining and will keep declining,” he said.

“[But] I think even if it becomes an absolute niche, a couple of thousand cars in Australia, we still have our place there.

“Of course there is no growth without SUVs in the line-up. That’s a story we can tell [now] with the Stelvio.”