Alfa Romeo has named its new small SUV the Milano, as a tribute to the company’s Italian home city, and confirmed it will reveal the car in April next year.
The new crossover – which appeared for the first time in leaked images recently – takes Alfa Romeo back into the B-segment for the first time since the Mito supermini retired in 2019 and will be the brand’s first electric car to reach showrooms.
Alfa Romeo has confirmed that the Milano will be sold with pure-electric and mild-hybrid powertrains, but only the EV is currently planned to come to the UK.
In reference to widespread recent reports that the car would be called Brennero, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato told reporters: “As a matter of respect for our history, the SUV will not be named Brennero, as I have read on social media. I told you two years ago that it would not be Brennero.”
The name Milano – last used in the 1980s for the US-market version of the 75 saloon – was chosen to emphasise “the connection between the car and the roots of Alfa Romeo”, Imparato said.
Measuring around 4.1m long and 1.8m wide, the new Volvo EX30 rival will share the E-CMP platform with the Jeep Avenger, alongside which it will be built in Tychy, Poland.
Powertrain details remain unconfirmed, but the Milano is set to use a 54kWh battery for a range of around 250 miles.
The electric Milano will be four-wheel-drive, Imparato confirmed, suggesting it will be the first E-CMP-based car to add a second motor on the rear axle.
Jeep has also confirmed a four-wheel-drive version of the Avenger, but while that will be conceived with an emphasis on off-road ability, the Milano will use a 4WD layout to give the car distinctive and engaging handling characteristics, in line with Alfa’s dynamic remit.
Autocar asked Imparato how the company will ensure the new Milano will feel like an Alfa Romeo, despite its volume-oriented positioning and shared underpinnings.