Coming Alfa Romeo large CUV to be an electric Italian Dodge Durango?
In the middle of 2022, Alfa Romeo boss Jean-Philippe Imparato told Reuters the Italian carmaker would develop a new battery-electric vehicle in the U.S. that would launch here in 2027. Created for markets that prize large SUVs, he said, “Our offer for a large size vehicle must fit international markets, American, Chinese, European.” At the time, he cast doubt on whether the model would be as large as a BMW X5 (195 inches x 78.9 inches), and suggested it could combine crossover and sedan form factors. Imparato wouldn’t be drawn on the production site for this new vehicle, but Reuters believed it probably won’t be built in the U.S. Six months later, in January of last year, Imparato shared a few specs of the coming EV SUV with Automotive News Europe, by then called a “high-performance SUV” with motors putting out from 300 to 800 horsepower in the standard range and around 1,000 horsepower in a Quadrifoglio trim, and an 800-volt architecture would enable “recharging times of 18 minutes max.”
At this point, this SUV had also officially become a competitor to the X5, the BMW almost exactly 10 inches longer than the Stelvio (pictured), which is currently the largest product in the Alfa Romeo portfolio and the best-seller in the U.S. What had stayed constant was the potential of a tweener shape, Imparato having said that aerodynamic needs could lead to a shape between a sedan and a crossover.
With all that said, a post in a forum on of Spain’s Cochespias (via Mopar Insiders) pinpoints the production site for the Alfa: The Detroit Assembly Complex – Jefferson plant in Detroit that builds the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango. The information comes from what appears to be a clip from a spreadsheet identifying current and future assembly sites and annual production figures. A line for the “E-CUV EV,” this E-segment Alfa Romeo, refers to the assembly complex by its previous name, Jefferson North.
The next-generation Grand Cherokee and Durango will sit on Stellantis’ STLA Large platform, same as this flagship Alfa Romeo. The Grand Cherokee enters production at Detroit Assembly in 2026, the Durango in 2027. The spreadsheet shows production projections for the Alfa variant of 1,961 units for 2027, 10,715 units for 2028.
The next-gen Giulia and Stelvio, also on the STLA Large platform, are going to be built in the company’s Cassino, Italy plant, so they can keep their geographical references. If the E-CUV info comes true, all that we can be certain of is that the big crossover-sedan-ish flagship won’t have a specifically Italian name. What we can infer is that it will be much closer to the layout and design of the Grand Cherokee and Durango, at least inside, than previously considered. By the way, the Grand Cherokee is 193.5 inches long, the Durango stretches 201 inches, giving Alfa’s X5 fighter plenty of room to play against the X5. However, the Jeep and Dodge are going to come in hybrid and pure-electric versions, the next-gen X5 entering production in August 2026 is also going to offer internal combustion and pure EV models. The Alfa is sticking to electric propulsion only, which is why the focus on its shape.
