Alexandre
The beginning of 2025 marks a turning point for Alfa Romeo. After a 2024 marked by a significant drop in production of the Giulia, Stelvio and Tonale models, the little Alfa Romeo Junior SUV finally seems to have taken off. A significant change that raises the question: How well does the Junior save the Italian brand from the decline of its other models?
Indeed, Junior's first months on the market have been less than convincing. Between April and October 2024, only 10,000 orders were received, twice as few as the Tonale over the same period at launch. By January 2025, however, the figures were much more positive, and the brand records an excellent januarymainly thanks to Junior.
Figures for January 2025 show a very interesting picture regarding sales of Alfa Romeo models in some of Europe's biggest markets:
| Alfa Romeo January 2025 | Total | Junior | Tonale | Stelvio | Giulia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2276 | 1402 | 549 | 263 | 62 |
| France | 656 | 488 | 143 | 12 | 13 |
| Germany | 572 | 318 | 55 | 105 | 94 |
| US | 460 | / | / | / | / |
| Spain | 335 | 229 | 61 | 39 | 6 |
In the absence of anything new, the United States slips from 2nd to 4th place. For the moment, no details by model for this country.
Junior: a saviour for Alfa Romeo?
There's no denying that the Junior has brought a breath of fresh air to Alfa Romeo. In Italy, it is the most popular model, representing more than 60 % of the brand's sales in January 2025 (1402 sales versus 549 for the Tonale). This figure shows that the Junior, although not yet equal to the Tonale of January 2024 (with 1631 sales), is still managing to hold its own. However, one question remains: does the drop in Tonale sales (549 registrations in January 2025) signal a real crisis for this model, or is Junior cannibalizing its sales?
It's interesting to note that the Tonale figures drop off from the month of Junior's presentation. But correlation is not always causation. The impact of this dynamic will be very interesting to follow over the coming months. The figures for January 2025 also reveal another truth: the Stelvio, despite its strengths, continues to struggle to convince, except in Italy with 263 sales and in Germany with 105 sales. As for the Giulia, its decline is glaring. With just 62 sales in Italy, it's at an all-time low.
Future prospects: will Junior change everything?
While the Tonale seems to be stagnating and the Stelvio Giulia in decline, the Junior is Alfa Romeo's saviour, at least on the European market. While initial sales figures for 2025 suggest a recovery, it remains to be seen whether this trend will continue in the months ahead. Although Alfa Romeo's situation is not yet stable, it's clear that Junior plays a central role in the brand's future. Its rise to prominence could well enable Alfa Romeo to regain a certain stability, and it seems essential to find solutions to boost Tonale sales.
Tonale is so fkn ugly, a real hier to SZ. Those are really ugly Alfa's i hate.
In fact, the Tonale has had nothing going for it from the start. It's an ersatz Alfa on a Jeep base.
Früher war Alfa Romeo ein Italienischer Wagen komplett Made in Italy.
Die Marke hat Ihre Eigenständigkeit verloren und die Modellpolitik hat keine Zukunft.
Die Marke wird leider beim Globalen Autobauer Stellantis kein Platz mehr haben
October I go to Alfa in my region to buy a Junior. No commercial gesture (no discount) when I get home I see that I've been charged €450 in delivery costs. The salesman didn't bother to tell me! So I signed for a Peugeot hybrid with a revised engine (the same as in the Junior).
I'm not surprised that sales have collapsed under these conditions. I've owned three Alfa cars and I'm currently driving a company Alfa.
The appeal of novelty no doubt explains Junior's sales.
However, neither the Junior nor the Tonale have the engines to convince alfists.
The sales figures for the Giulia and Stelvio are distressing when you consider how extraordinary their chassis and handling are. These cars may be 8 years old (or even older), but no competing brand has managed to do as well.
The Giorgio platform cost a fortune and did not include electrification, which shows FCA's lack of seriousness with this platform and its lack of anticipation of anti-CO2 standards in Europe...
All the manufacturers who launched new platforms at the same time were able to electrify them, whether they were premiums like BMW or generalists like PSA or VW, not to mention Toyota, Renault and the Koreans...
Making this platform profitable has been an ordeal, given the ridiculously low sales of the Stelvio and Giulia.
As for the competition being left behind by Alfa, you've never driven a BMW 3 Series or X3 to be so sure.
With the several manufacturers' u-turn on going fully electric, and certain group of people still wanting ICE, I'm surprised that Stelvio and Giulia are doing so badly at the tail end of its product life cycle.
I bought the Giulia last year and tested the 3 series alongside the Giulia several times.
IMHO the Giulia is more engaging, visceral and more connected with the driver. More fun and put a big grin on my face at each test drive.
The 3er is more clinical, more space, slab of screen for cockpit, a toggle for gearstick, 273 colour options for interior lighting but there's a little disconnect with the driver relative to the Giulia. It's not as fun although I still smile when the car goes around bends/sweepers.
And we can see how serious PSA is in... the collapse of Stellantis sales.
A real purge.
PS: I've driven a 4 Series, and I can confirm that the Giulia is a cut above the rest.
Yes, I'm familiar with the BMW 1 and 3 series. And I can confirm that the Giulia is far superior.
FCA's mistakes are another matter.
I've been an Alfa customer since 1983, and I've just moved from two Stelvios to a Tonale PHEV 280. I can tell you that this is a fine, fine Alfa, with efficient handling, a top-notch chassis, historical links in the design, etc. Instead of criticizing on principle, go and try it out! Instead of criticizing on principle, go and try it out! I'm sick of making comments without having tried the models you're criticizing.
I'm also very surprised at the dismal sales data for Giulia and Stelvio. Shocking considering how good the chassis and engines are.