Alfa Romeo is undergoing a dramatic transformation that will significantly increase its model range and turn it into an electric-only, SUV-focused brand in 2028, years before premium rivals like BMW, Mercedes and Lexus. It claims there’s still room for a sedan in that mix, but it sounds like it might be very different to the Giulia sedan we know today.

First, let’s recap on what Alfa has in the pipes. Three new crossovers are heading this way over the next five years, including the recently announced Tonale, which slots below the Stelvio, and a compact pseudo-off-roader potentially called the Brennero that’s destined for Europe and will be the brand’s first ever EV. Alfa is also expected to introduce an all-new Stelvio in 2026, and a BMW X5-sized big brother to it the following year, both of those cars being available only with electric power.

But Alfa claims this sensible market-driven focus on SUVs doesn’t mean the end of Giulia. It will be replaced in 2025 with Alfa’s first EV for the North American market, an all new electric-only car built around the new Stellantis STLA Large EV platform. But the power source might not be all that’s different about the next Giulia, judging from what the firm’s North American boss, Larry Dominique, told us.

“Sedan sales in the mainstream sector have dropped precipitously,” Dominque acknowledged, “but sedan volumes in premium have held on, and are still pretty strong.”

Related: Alfa Romeo’s First EV Lands In 2024 But The Brand Still Has No Idea How It Will Sound

“We still believe that sedan market is important, so the role the Giulia plays in the D sedan segment is important, and we’re going to participate in it,” he explained, referring to the next generation car, which arrives after the existing sedan has been treated to one final facelift.

“But what [Alfa Romeo CEO] Jean-Philippe Imparato has said is that the definition of a sedan is evolving,” continued Dominique, “and we’re going to move along with that evolution of what a sedan is.”

Dominique declined to elaborate on exactly how the next Giulia would evolve, but there are a couple of trends we can see that Alfa might hop on to keep its four-door car relevant in a market increasingly infatuated by crossovers and SUVs.

The first is to turn the Giulia into a kind of low-slung sporty crossover. Subaru has employed crossover styling cues like the black wheel arch and bumper cladding on its latest WRX to keep it feeling on-trend, and although Renault bills the Arkana as an SUV, it’s more of a high-riding sedan.

It’s even possible that Alfa could make the Giulia a kind of four-door coupe version of the next Stelvio in the way that Skoda now offers a fastback Enyaq coupe alongside the regular Enyaq SUV.

Or perhaps we’re reading too much into Dominique’s comments. Maybe he was hinting that the Giulia will simply adopt a liftback format to make it more practical and give it a sportier rear window line, moving it from being a BMW 3-Series rival to a competitor for the 4-Series Gran Coupe.

What direction do you think Alfa should go with the next Giulia? Leave a comment and let us know.