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This is the Alfa Romeo Tonale compact crossover in official images

Alfa Romeo has unveiled the Tonale concept crossover at the Geneva Motor Show. The carmaker was able to keep the Tonale's name and design secret until yesterday, when images of the stand leaked online; the concept was revealed to be a shapely PHEV in metallic red. The concept will lead to a production vehicle, which will be Alfa Romeo's first CUV. Bared and shown in detail, the Tonale concept looks really good — dare we say, on par with recent Mazdas. It blends Stelvio styling cues into a smaller vehicle, but the concept still manages to look like its own thing, and perhaps even better than the bigger sibling. There are classic Alfa Romeo touches like phone-dial wheels, and the front end has a hint of the SZ and Brera coupes of earlier times. The interior, while largely concept-car-like, brings more Alfa styling to the table. The gauges are housed in traditional bucket shapes visible through the steering wheel, conjoined by a central display. There's a large central screen, underneath which runs a central tunnel covering that looks like muscle fiber, repeated in the door cards. The seats are styled like the racing buckets of a sports car. Alfa Romeo states that electrified power has been used for its own means, instead of Alfa bowing down to accept new standards. "The electrification of Alfa Romeo comes at the service of sportiness and emphasizes the famous 'Mechanics of Emotions' mission of the brand," as Alfa Romeo says. This also means the Tonale's hybrid branding will be discreet instead of obvious. The Tonale ("tonal," in English) is a plug-in hybrid, with a rear-mounted electric motor; however, any definite specifications as to the engine, the electric powertrain or the utilized platform remain unannounced. One detail emerges, though: Earlier, fossil-fuel-only Alfa Romeos have used the "DNA" selector for Dynamic, Natural or Advanced Efficiency modes; now the Dynamic mode has been changed to Dual Power, and the other end is Advance E, for full electric mode. Related Video:

Stellantis says its 2021 performance has been better than expected

MILAN — Stellantis softened up investors ahead of its electrification strategy event on Thursday by flagging that 2021 got off to a better-than-expected start despite a chip shortage that has hit automakers worldwide. Stellantis, which was formed in January from the merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA, faces an investor community keen to hear how it plans to come up with a range of electrified vehicles (EVs) to rival Tesla. At its "EV Day 2021" kicking off at 1230 GMT, Stellantis will disclose significant investments in electrification technology and connected software as it aims to be an industry frontrunner, it said in a statement. In April, Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said it would offer low-emission versions — either battery or hybrid electric — of almost all of its European models by 2025, and they should make up 70% of European sales and 35% of U.S. sales by 2030. Stellantis, the world's fourth-biggest automaker, has 14 brands in its stable, including Jeep, Ram, Opel, Fiat, Peugeot and Maserati.   Stellantis EV Day coverage: Dodge will launch the 'world's first electric muscle car' in 2024 Fully electric Ram 1500 will begin production in 2024 Jeep will have 4xe plug-in hybrid models across the lineup by 2025 Stellantis teases mystery electric Chrysler concept Stellantis previews 4 electric platforms: Here's how they'll be used Fiat says all Abarth models to be electric from 2024 Opel Manta E will be the electric revival of the classic German coupe Stellantis says its 2021 performance has been better than expected   At a similar EV strategy event last week, French rival Renault announced that 90% of its main brand models would be all-electric by 2030, whereas previously it had included hybrids in its target. Germany's Volkswagen, the world's second-biggest automaker after Toyota, expects all-electric vehicles to make up 55% of its total sales in Europe by 2030, and more than 70% of sales at its Volkswagen brand. Stellantis said its margins on adjusted operating profits in the first half of 2021 were expected to exceed an annual target of between 5.5% and 7.5%, despite production losses due to a global shortage of semiconductor supplies. Stellantis shares listed in Milan were down 2.6% at 0920 GMT, underperforming the broader European car index. Bestinver analyst Marco Opipari said Thursday's news was positive but that the stock was suffering from profit taking as it had moved up about 20% since the end of April.

Alfa Romeo Giulia is going electric

In an interview with Auto Express, Alfa Romeo's CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato revealed a bunch of details about the future of the company and electric vehicles. But the most interesting is that, despite the world's insatiable appetite for SUVs, the Giulia sport sedan will get another generation, and one that's entirely electric. Apparently, the car will be built on the STLA Large platform, one of several EV architectures Stellantis announced back July. Considering that there will be STLA Small and STLA Medium platforms, we're a little surprised that Alfa would go with the big option, since the current Giulia isn't particularly big. It could be that Alfa is aiming for particularly long range from the next Giulia, and maybe even more interior space. We bring up range because the Large platform is said to accept 101-kWh to 118-kWh of battery capacity and up to 500 miles of range. It may also be sharing the platform and development with the future Stelvio, like the current one does with the Giorgio platform. Imparato also talked a bit about the high-performance Quadrifoglio models. The company is definitely still open to them in the electric era, but only if they can make them perform the way they want. That seems unlikely to be an issue for a couple of reasons. One, Imparato told Auto Express that the man who helped develop the Giulia Quadrifoglio GTA is on the team developing STLA Large. The other is that Stellantis has a wild range of motors planned. At the low end will be 94-horsepower motors, but at the other will be 402-horsepower units. There should be a pairing in there that finds a good balance between raw power and finesse, especially when just one makes around 80% of the power of the current Quadrifoglio's twin-turbo V6. Stellantis aims to have its 500-mile STLA Large platform cars, among the others, ready for 2024. Odds seem good that the electric Alfas will start showing up at that time, since the brand is planning to be fully electric in 2027. That will make it the first Stellantis brand to be entirely electric. Related Video: 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid powertrain feature walkthrough | Autoblog