Alfa Romeo Brand is bringing back the Milano in April 2024, as an electric vehicle. The Milano was, for many in the 1980s and 1990s, the face of the Alfa Romeo brand in the United States—with its oddly slanted badges and tendency to appear in highway shoulders.
This will be Alfa brand’s first BEV and its first “Urban Sports Vehicle,” according to the brand; and its only B-segment (subcompact) car. It is meant primarily for Europe, and Stellantis hasn’t yet decided whether to sell it anywhere else. After the electric version launches, Alfa brand will follow up with a mild-hybrid gasoline version—which is supposedly to be sold only through 2026. EV sales in the segment are not growing as quickly as gasoline-powered cars.
The Milano is apparently based on the eCMP2 setup shared by the Jeep Avenger and Fiat 600, and will be made with them in Tychy, Poland. Its main differentiator is likely to be handling.
Small SUVs—sorry, Urban Sports Vehicles—are Europe’s largest segment. It will compete with the DS 3, Audi Q2, Mini Countryman, Volvo EX30, and others. The DS 3 is a slow seller, but the Q2 has been selling fairly well.
While the Milano was a separate model for some time, the word “Milano” was at the bottom of the Alfa Romeo logo from 1910 through 1972. Alfa itself is an acronym (like Fiat), short for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili; the brand originated as a separate company. The Romeo was added when Nicola Romeo gained control of it.
Alfa Romeo brand sales in the United States were falling quite fast before the Tonale was launched. Global Alfa brand growth is quite favorable—34% over 2022, year to date, through November. The Alfa brand ranked first among premium brands in sales satisfaction, according to J.D. Power, in November 2022. It also rose in the Initial Quality Survey, which measures problems in the first 90 days of ownership.
The new Milano will be shown in Milan, Italy. No images have been released; illustrations in this story show the Tonale.
Updates added by the Stellpower staff, based on Automotive News reporting from Luca Ciferri.
