Alfa Romeo has been planning a return to the U.S. market for some time now, but the latest news emerging out of Italy suggests that the brand will not be bringing its recently introduced and ultra stylish MiTo hatch to American dealers, instead focusing on larger cars.

The news comes directly from Alfa Romeo CEO Sergio Cravero, who revealed to Automotive News that the business case for the MiTo hatch coming to the U.S. just didn't add up. Cravero explained that the current U.S. market is not comfortable enough yet with small, luxury cars such as the MiTo. He estimated that volume in the U.S. would only amount to "roughly 20,000 units a year", a figure that is too low to make an American MiTo a viable business proposition.

Rather than the smaller Alfa Romeo MiTo model, the U.S. market will be receiving the upcoming Milano model, a mid-sized five-door hatch that was snapped up close by spy photographers last week. While company officials have settled on bringing the Milano to the U.S., other models that could be coming Stateside have yet to be decided as U.S. partner Chrysler must still decide which platforms it will be using for production in North America.

Alfa Romeo's parent company, Fiat, and their recent alliance with Detroit-based Chrysler will see the American brand borrowing platforms from the Italian manufacturer. Alfa Romeo's Milano model will serve as the underpinning for a future Chrysler sedan, but other models are still being decided upon by Fiat and Chrysler higher-ups.