Alfa Romeo will launch its first ever SUV towards the end of 2016 and says it has completed the preparation work on its SUV.

ALFA ROMEO will launch its first-ever SUV either in late 2016 or early 2017 just three short months after it launches its brand new Giulia. FCA boss Sergio Marchionne told analysts on a conference call late last week that, “All the preparation work” in connection with the SUV has been finished. “Alfa’s plan is progressing as we told you it will go”.

The SUV will be based off the all-new Giulia sedan which has already been shown to a select group of journalists and will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. In a trend-bucking move, the Giulia will be a rear-driver. That said, neither Marchionne nor Alfa Romeo has admitted the new model will be an SUV, but the rumour mill amongst suppliers, according to Automotive News Europe, is that it will be a medium SUV, codenamed 949 that’s likely to rival the Audi Q5, Range Rover Evoque and BMW X3.

The Giulia will go up against the BMW 3 Series and Jaguar XE, will offer a range of high-performance engines, including a Ferrari-derived V6. In his presentation, Marchionne said the Giulia’s platform could be shared throughout the FCA group.

“We are taking a very hard look at the sequencing of the products that we are launching to make sure that we get the biggest bang for the buck from the utilization of the architecture in terms of volumes,” he said.