Thanks to the new strategy of the Stellantis Group, Lancia will return to its roots. Years later, he has to play the role of the “Italian” Mercedes.
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Thanks to the establishment of the Stellantis Group, a big change awaits the Lancia brand. Group management formed by the merger of the PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles gave Lancia, like its other brands, 10 years for further development. In the case of the Lancia, moreover, it means a real renaissance, with a brand offering a single model exclusively in a single, domestic market, a company with a range of several models operating in many markets across Europe.
In addition, the carmaker will return to its roots. If its current Ypsilon is one of the best-selling cars in its home Italy and logically competes with an interesting price tag, Lancia is to be a premium brand again in the future. Within the Stellantis hierarchy, it will play a similar role as the “avant-garde” DS and the “sports” Alfa Romeo.
“We still have to work and we must follow the standard that Mercedes is for us. I don’t mean that we want to fight Mercedes, that would be naive, but it’s an example of what we’re looking at, “says Lancia brand boss Luca Napolitano.
As part of the new strategy, Lancia will once again become a kind of “Italian Mercedes”, a brand that attracts Italian elegance. As part of this strategy, three upcoming innovations are already emerging, which are to play the backbone of the offer in the future. A successor to Ypsilon is set for 2024, a compact crossover (apparently called the Aurelia) is due to arrive in 2026, and a compact hatchback two years later.which has revived the famous name Delta.
At the same time, the Italian brand expects to quickly electrify its offer. The replacement for today’s Ypsilon will be created as a hybrid, the other two new products being prepared will be electric cars.
Related to this is the fact that Lancia intends to revive its former character as an innovator. However, in addition to modern types of drives, this should also apply to other areas. Extensive use of online sales is planned, which is to accelerate the return of Lancia to European markets, modern materials will be used in the construction itself. “We want to build cars with a significant proportion of recycled materials,” says Napolitano, adding that the proportion of such elements within the Stellantis Group should be the highest ever.
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This is to help Lancia expand in markets where they love electromobility. Today, Lancia primarily targets European markets, Germany and France, as well as Spain, Austria, Belgium and the Nordic countries, countries where they want an electromobility trend. It intends to have about 100 points of sale in 60 European cities to be shared with other brands of the group. In the future, however, the management does not prevent entry into non-European markets, such as Japan or Australia. So if everything goes according to plan.
“Initially, we aim to achieve 25 to 30% of our sales abroad to achieve a 50 to 50 share,” says the brand’s chief executive. This is helped by the accelerated strategy of electrifying supply, as well as the betting on segments that are popular across Europe.
In any case, Lancia will not pursue sales numbers in any fundamental way. “Volume is important, of course, but our goal is profitability,” says Napolitano.
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