Lancia plans officially: launch dates for three new products and sales strategy

Stellantis is preparing to bring the Lancia brand back to the big European market, but is not setting itself too ambitious goals. The mass brand that Lancia was in the 80s will probably never be.

Since 2017, the Lancia brand has been represented exclusively in native Italy with one Ypsilon model, the current generation of which has been produced since 2011 at the Fiat plant in the Polish city of Tychy (the related gasoline Fiat 500 is also assembled here). Before the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA into Stellantis, there were rumors that the Lancia brand would soon be archived because there was no way to bring it back to the big arena: it was too complicated and expensive. But the leadership of the newly formed automotive giant thought differently and gave a chance to survive to all of its 14 brands, which Lancia returned to the headlines.

Lancia Ypsilon, despite its advanced age and limited distribution area, is actively sold: in the first three quarters of this year, according to the analytical agency JATO Dynamics, 35,403 units were sold, or 20% more. Compared to the same period in 2020.

One of the first decisions of the top management of Stellantis was to combine the brands Alfa Romeo, DS and Lancia into a premium hub, their new products will be developed together, but at the same time separately from the mass brands Citroen, Fiat, Jeep, Opel and Peugeot, so there is no infamous engineering icon.

Three upcoming new products for the Lancia brand were revealed this summer, and in a new interview with Automotive News Europe, Lancia CEO Luca Napolitano set the timetable for these new products and where and how they can be purchased.

Thus, in 2024, a new generation of the Ypsilon sedan will debut and the brand will enter the large European market. In addition to Italy, the first new Lancia in many years will be offered in Germany, France, Spain, Austria and Belgium. In the following years, Lancia will return to the markets of the UK and other continental European countries. Luca Napolitano hasn't said anything about Lancia's plans outside of Europe – apparently not, at least not for the next decade.

The new Ypsilon will be offered with both an all-electric powertrain and smaller petrol engines with a slightly heavy 48-volt hybrid.

The next novelty is a crossover with a length of about 4.6 m, which is likely to receive the historical name Aurelia (until the end of the 1950s, this was the name of the family of top passenger models with a sedan, coupe and convertible body). The new Aurelia will already be 100% electric, which means the ICE version is not expected to debut in 2026.

The third novelty is another revived legend, namely the Delta compact electric sedan with a length of approximately 4.3 m, we will have to wait until 2028. The next novelties will also be exclusively electric, but it is too early to announce them.

This means that Lancia will only have three models in the next seven years. Napolitano believes that, taking into account the tasks set, this is enough: Lancia will be quite modest in sales, but at the same time, a bright and desirable brand aimed at an adult audience (average age is 55), mainly urban and family (at least with one child) … Now Lancia cars are mostly bought by childless women (two-thirds of sales) around the age of 45.

The new target audience, according to Napolitano, will be more or less the same as Tesla, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz, which means that customers of these brands can switch to Lancia, if, of course, they find it attractive enough – designers owe a lot work.

Lancia plans to move away from the traditional dealer network in favor of a so-called agent sales model, in which the customer buys a car directly from the manufacturer at a fixed price, and the agent simply provides consulting services, test drives and promotions. An agent, unlike a dealer, does not buy a car from a manufacturer, but works for a commission. The agent sales system is considered to be cheaper than the traditional network of resellers and better suited for e-commerce.

Napolitano estimates that about half of the new Lancia will be sold online, but there will also be showrooms. It is planned to build a hundred points of sale from 80 to 140 m2, which will be located in 60 cities in Europe.

While there are no concrete sales targets, they may be released early next year when Stellantis promises to formulate a more detailed roadmap for all of its brands following the massive electrification plan announced this summer.