- Tonale SUV is the first car in the world to come with an NFT (non-fungible token) certificate
- It offers advanced capabilities including 60km-80km of electric-only driving range
The Italian luxury car manufacturer, Alfa Romeo Automobiles – now owned by Stellantis – unveiled a new compact sports utility vehicle (SUV), named ‘Tonale’ to add electrification to its portfolio and enhance market share value.
The Stellantis subsidiary-made SUV underpins the automaker’s first attempt to design a plug-in hybrid vehicle and also the first ever effort made by any Italian car manufacturer.
Stellantis displays a very strong foothold in the luxury car market with 14 major brands under its umbrella, including Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, and DS.
Named after Italy’s Alpine pass, the new SUV Tonale will face off luxury subcompact SUVs like Mercedes GLA, BMW X1 and Audi Q3.
Additionally, the Italian car manufacturer plans on investing over $34.2 billion in electrification of vehicles by 2025 with the aim of joining the race against rivals like Tesla.
Alfa Romeo CEO, Jean-Philippe Imparato mentioned that the manufacturer is on a mission to introduce a new car each year until 2030 and solely design electric cars from 2027.
Interestingly, the new Alfa Romeo SUV model reminds of a former Fiat Chrysler design and its core range is a blend of a plug-in hybrid and a mild-hybrid powertrain offering 130hp and 160hp.
While the mild-hybrid model displays high-performance capabilities, the most powerful model of Tonale is the plug-in hybrid version, which can achieve 0-100kph in 6.2 sec and is capable of 60km-80km of electrically powered driving range.
Moreover, the car comes with a unique feature enabling owners to set their car as a destination spot for Amazon to deliver packages, only after the owner remotely unlocks the car doors.