Efficiency over sportiness as Alfa Romeo eyes fully electric Tonale SUV

As Alfa Romeo follows the lead of European car manufacturers like Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar Land Rover by offering a fully electric range from 2027, the Italian carmaker is waiting to see the reaction to its new Tonale SUV before committing to a fully electric version.

The new BMW X3 rival will land in Australian showrooms in 2023 with a range of mild hybrids and plug-in-hybrid grades, with pricing kicking off from $49,990 before on-road costs for the Ti, increasing to $56,400 for the higher-spec but mechanically identical Veloce. The PHEV arrives later in 2023.

Alfa Romeo product director Daniel Guzzafame said the company had its eye on the success of the Tonale to determine whether it will get a fully electric version.

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"Depending on the success of the car, depending on the strategy of the company, we will decide whether to go with full electric on this generation. Or, and we are already working on it, on the next generation."

The Tonale PHEV is a big deal for Alfa Romeo which has already hinted that there will be an electric or partially electric version of their Giulia sedan.

"It is changing, so we need to be bringing the concept, the evolution of sportiness to the next step," Mr Guzzafame said.

With Alfa pivoting from combustion to electric, it has taken the lessons learned in Formula 1 about hybrid technology and applying them to production efforts. The Tonale PHEV has a 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbo driving the front wheels and a 90kW electric motor driving the rear.

The Tonale's split-axle hybrid drivetrain will be a test of the company's software engineers as all power distribution is controlled by computers.