The Alfa Romeo Tonale - Debut will be delayed until early 2022

Stellantis, the parent company of Alfa Romeo, has confirmed that they will debut the Alfa Romeo Tonale as a plug-in hybrid sports utility vehicle (SUV).

Initially, the compact SUV-coupe was supposed to be showcased this September, but the date has been pushed back as Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato demanded better performance from the PHEV.

"Even though the introduction of the coupe-SUV will be delayed until early 2022, it won’t kill our excitement because the forthcoming Tonale will be the first-ever model in the Alfa Romeo line-up to be a plug-in", said Jean-Philippe.

It has also been confirmed that the Tonale will share a similar powertrain with the Jeep Compass and Renegade 4xe PHEV variants, running on two output versions of 190 hp and 240 hp.

The power will come from a 1.3-litre turbo inline-four petrol, paired with a 400-volt 11.4 kWh lithium-ion nickel-manganese-cobalt battery pack offering 42 km of pure electric drive.

Meanwhile, the debut of Tonale will strengthen the reputation of Romeo’s current line-up,  Stelvio and Giulia, as the Italian brand’s sales have slumped in the United States market, and it will be the brand’s first new model since the Stelvio was introduced in 2016.

The Tonale has been scheduled to enter production in October at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plant in Pomigliano near Naples, the news site added.