Alfa Romeo Milano Would've Cost €10,000 More Had It Been Made in Italy Instead of Poland

What's 10,000 euros in this day and age? For starters, the minimum wage in Poland is 4,250 zlotys or just under 1,000 euros. The minimum wage in the Italian Republic, by comparison, is nonexistent because Italy doesn't have a law in this regard. A minimum wage bill from 2019 – that has yet to succeed – could set the national minimum wage to €9 per hour, meaning €1,440 per month.

The lack of a minimum wage law in the Italian Republic is the reason why Italy has one of the highest proportions of so-called working poor in the European Union. How much does the 2024 Alfa Romeo Milano cost? €29,900 is the starting price for both the Ibrida mild-hybrid version and the Elletrica full-electric versions, and 10,000 euros on top of that results in €39,990 or around $42,870.

Very uncompetitive in this proverbial sea of subcompact crossovers, isn't it? Rather than limiting the Milano's potential in the marketplace, Carlos Tavares and crew did the right thing by deciding on the Tychy plant in Poland for the newcomer. Despite clashing with the Italian unions and government over production volume and electric vehicle subsidies, Tavares is right on this one.

Speaking to Automotive News, the man who leads the destinies of what used to be Fiat Chrysler and PSA further confessed that Stellantis declined to sell Alfa Romeo and three French brands, namely Citroen, Peugeot, and Citroen's fancier cousin DS. In regard to Alfa Romeo, the group decided against selling the Italian marque over a simple reason.

That reason being an operating profit of 500 million euros in 2023, or 546 million dollars at current exchange rates. While not a huge lump of cash, bear in mind that Alfa Romeo was a three-model automaker until the debut of the Milano. The rear-biased Giulia and Stelvio are fine machines, especially from the standpoint of driving dynamics, but they show their age in a variety of areas, including the touchscreen-less infotainment.

The Tonale, on the other hand, is a mixed bag. While pretty and spacious, one cannot escape the fact that Stellantis used a very old platform for it. Also remember that Alfa Romeo Tonale is joined at the hip to the Dodge Hornet, which is quite a bit more affordable in the US because Tonale comes exclusively as a PHEV in this part of the world.

500 million euros operating profit for a brand with a relatively low global sales volume is good news for Alfa Romeo, which moved an estimated 70,500 vehicles in 2023. That's in the ballpark of 7,100 euros per vehicle, an unthinkable figure compared to when Fiat Chrysler was running the show.

Unfortunately – or fortunately if you're not a fan of the weird-looking front end – the Milano won't be sold in the United States of America. It will be in Mexico, though, and Alfa Romeo has further confirmed availability in the Australian market.