The current word is that Alfa Romeo will be returning to Malaysia as early as January 2025.
Alfistis rejoice, as there is currently credible rumours for Alfa Romeo to be making a return to Malaysia! The word on the street is that the Italian marque will be officiating its local comeback in as early as January of next year, with its newly-launched Junior small SUV serving as its debut model.
Now interestingly enough, the rumour mill is currently churning for Alfa Romeo to not be returning to Malaysia under the wider Stellantis Malaysia distribution network. This will thus mean that the Italian marque will not be sharing showroom space over here in Peugeot dealerships, which are incidentally already to be hosting Leapmotor (and soon Citroen) cars.
Instead, it is alleged that ‘a new distributor with a management team that has decades of automotive sales and after sales experience’ is to be looking after the Italian automaker’s business in Malaysia. Those expecting an Alfa Romeo dealership at every street corner will also be somewhat disappointed, as the local distributors will apparently be going down the Suzuki route in opening only a few outlets nationwide for the foreseeable future.
Alfa Romeo was officially last in Malaysia nearly a decade ago, under the distributorship of Sime Darby Auto Italia. The Giulietta hatchback that launched in 2012 was to be the last model that was officially sold here, though there are currently examples of the Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV sitting in the lots of various higher-end grey-importers.
Discussing more on the Junior (previously known as Milano) that is rumoured to soon be landing locally meanwhile, this small SUV launched earlier this year with both fully-electric and mild hybrid petrol powertrains. It is as yet unconfirmed which variant will eventually be offered over here, but the smart money is currently on the EV being the launch candidate.
The Junior is currently offered in two EV trims internationally: the hum-drum Ellettrica and the hotter Ellettrica Veloce. Power and range figures in for the former are currently quoted at 154 hp and 420 km (on the WLTP test cycle) respectively, while the sportier trim ekes out 237 hp from the same single front-mounted motor and 54 kWh battery package.
A quick look at various international markets sees for the Junior to be priced from around the RM 180,000 mark, which will make it be quite the stylish alternative to anyone looking at a Volvo EX30 or smart #1. And remember here, you can’t really be a petrolhead without owning an Alfa Romeo!
