Alfa Romeo is latest Stellantis brand to get all-electric future

Five of Stellantis' 12 core brands will become all-electric in the near future -- Alfa Romeo, Fiat, DS, Lancia and Opel -- as the group formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group steps up its electrification efforts.

Alfa Romeo will only sell full-electric vehicles in Europe, North America and China starting in 2027, according to Stellantis’ first-half results presentation published on Wednesday (See chart below).

Stellantis’ upscale niche brands, DS Automobiles and Lancia, will gradually shift to becoming electric-only.

DS will launch only full-electric cars starting in 2024 while also continuing to sell vehicles with internal combustion enginers. Lancia will launch only full-electric cars starting in 2026.

The three brands join Opel and Fiat, which have already announced plans to become electric-only.

Opel said in June that it will be an all-electric brand in Europe by 2028. Also in June, Fiat CEO Olivier Francois said the brand's product lineup will become electric-only between 2025 and 2030.

Automakers are jostling to position themselves at the forefront of the industry's shift to electric ahead of the European Union's plan to effectively ban internal combustion engines by 2035 by requiring all new cars sold from then to produce zero emissions.

Volkswagen Group brands that have committed to an EV-only future include Bentley (2030) and Audi (2033). Cupra, the subbrand spun off from Seat, will be all-electric, VW Group CEO Herbert Diess said this year, without giving a date. The flagship VW brand has said it will phase out internal combustion engines from 2033 to 2035.

Outside of Stellantis and VW Group, Jaguar will become an all-electric brand starting in 2025, Volvo has said it expects to be all-electric by 2030, and Ford has said the same about its European lineup.

'Racing to deliver'

During Stellantis' first-half results presentation CEO Carlos Tavares said the group is on "a strong electrification journey."

"Over the next 24 months you can expect no less than 11 pure EV launches. They will add to the existing 11 BEVs [battery-electric vehicles] on sale," Tavares said. "We are now racing to deliver what I promised, which is 100 percent electrification by 2025," meaning every new Stellantis model will have either a plug-in hybrid or full-electric option by then.

Stellantis' new full-electric models include three from Citroen; two each from Peugeot, Maserati and Fiat's vans unit; and one each from Jeep and Opel/Vauxhall.

There will also be 10 plug-in hybrid launches: three from Peugeot, two from Opel/Vauxhall, and one each from Alfa Romeo, Citroen, DS, Dodge and Jeep.

Before year-end, Tavares and other top Stellantis executives will roll out the group's strategic plan, which is expected to give more clarity about several brands that had been starved of investment under FCA, including Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo in Europe, and Dodge and Chrysler in the U.S.

Lancia, Alfa Romeo and DS make up Stellantis' premium cluster, and they are already working together on future models and industrial synergies.

DS offers the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense as its only full-electric vehicle. It already sells nearly 40 percent of vehicles as either full-electric cars or plug-in hybrids, the highest percentage in the group.

Lancia's next models will include a small car with a battery-powered option, and an electric-only compact crossover, company sources have said.