Alfa Romeo to unveil compact crossover in Geneva, report says

Last year,

Alfa Romeo outlined its five-year plan

, which calls for reviving both the 8C and GTV as high-performance

hybrids

and plans for new utility vehicles to bookend the

Stelvio

. Now, a

report

from

Autoblog.gr

(no relation) says the

Fiat

Chrysler brand will show its long-rumored compact

SUV

to slot underneath the

Stelvio

at the

Geneva Motor Show

next month.

The Greek website did not identify its source but says the compact SUV will be built on the Giorgio platform that underpins the

Giulia

and would contribute to the brand’s goals of hitting 400,000 annual sales. The Geneva Motor Show kicks off March 5.

FCA

is investing $5.7 billion in its under-utilized Italian plants to ramp up production of

Jeep

,

Fiat

and

Maserati

models, plus the new

Alfa Romeo

compact SUV to be built in Pomigliano, Italy. But those plans, which were reported by

Automotive News Europe

, had the new Alfa compact ute built on the platform underpinning the

Jeep Compass

, which was also set to start production in Melfi, Italy. A

plug-in hybrid

version of the Alfa is also reportedly in the picture, which squares with the brand’s plans to expand its offerings of electrified powertrains to six PHEVs.

Last we heard, Alfa Romeo was planning to

launch its largest-yet SUV as a seven-seater

, based on the Giorgio platform, as a mild

hybrid

.