When the Dodge Hornet was unveiled a week ago, everyone was surprised that it’s basically an Alfa Romeo Tonale with the American automaker’s front end design grafted on its face. You also have to remember that Alfa Romeo is also a premium brand, while Dodge is not. Since the Hornet is practically the Tonale but with a base price of $29,995, it isn’t surprising that Alfa Romeo is unhappy with the decisions that were made within Stellantis.

Speaking with The Drive, a source within Stellantis who spoke on condition of anonymity says that the Tonale started as primarily an Alfa Romeo project. However, internal politics, as well as the desire to raise Dodge’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), have led to the creation of the Dodge Hornet. This decision made the folks of the Italian premium automaker unhappy. The source says:

What is CAFE you ask? CAFE standards are regulations set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) whose aim is to increase the average fuel efficiency ratings of automakers. Dodge, however, sells a ton of vehicles with V-8s and supercharged Hellcat engines, which makes their average fuel economy numbers very low. By rebadging the Alfa Romeo Tonale, which has a much smaller engine and is even available as a plug-in hybrid, Dodge is able to raise its CAFE numbers.

Unfortunately, if you take a look at the Dodge Hornet and Alfa Romeo Tonale, only the front bumper, grille, headlights, and taillights are what separate the two vehicles. Everything else from the doors, mirrors, roof, and other body panels are exactly the same.

Take a look at these two crossover SUVs from the front three-quarter. Notice that while the grille, headlights, and front bumpers are visually different, they’re shaped in a way that they could simply be mounted to the body as easily as a piece of a puzzle.

Now, take a look at what they look like from the side. They look exactly the same, don’t they? All the body panels from this angle are the same. Lastly, take a look at the rear end of the two crossover SUVs. Just like the front, while the bumper and LED taillights may look visually different, the shape of the panels is exactly the same on both vehicles.

Now, if you take a look at the interior, both vehicles are exactly the same. Everything but the badge is the same, and that somehow gave Dodge the benefit of having a crossover SUV with an interior that’s far more premium than they’ve ever created.

Further adding insult to injury is the fact that the source said that there was no budget to further differentiate the two crossover SUVs visually. This isn’t surprising, however, since most rebadged vehicles only look marginally different from each other to save on costs.

As a recap, Dodge and Alfa Romeo are part of Stellantis, which is the result of a merger between FCA and PSA. Due to this merger, the group is now composed of a whopping 16 brands. Vehicles overlapping each other is practically inevitable, and this is exactly what’s happening with the Hornet and Tonale.

Alfa Romeo has not yet released pricing for the Tonale, and they probably won’t in the meantime since they have to suddenly rethink their strategy. Competing in the same space as the BMW X1, Lexus UX, or Mercedes-Benz GLA, the Tonale will probably have a base price of around $35,000.

Yet at the same time, since Dodge isn’t a premium brand, the Hornet has a base price of $29,995 for the base GT with a 268-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder. That’s extremely competitive, especially in a sea of other crossover SUVs that only produce half the horsepower at its price bracket. For perspective, the next most powerful non-electrified crossover SUV is the Mazda CX-5 that’s fitted with a 256-horsepower 2.5-liter turbo four-cylinder and has a base price of $36,400.

Alfa Romeo has long struggled to become significant ever since its American comeback in 2016. Even if the Giulia and Stelvio are great-driving cars, barely anyone is buying these two vehicles. The Tonale, therefore, was supposed to be the ray of hope that Alfa Romeo needed in order to gain traction not just in the United States, but globally as well.

That ray of hope seems to be disappearing for Alfa Romeo’s American presence as we speak. With the Hornet having 14,000 pre-orders as well as Dodge having a significantly bigger dealer network of 2,410 branches versus Alfa Romeo’s 138 as of August 2022, then it wouldn’t be surprising if the Hornet will be more successful than the Tonale.