This time it’s all true: Lancia is ready to return. The legendary Turin house, after 115 years of stormy history, is about to make a sensational return to European market. The CEO of the House, Luca Napolitano, confirmed everything in an interview with Corriere della Sera. But with which models will Lancia return? And how many will they be? Let’s find out together.
The return of Lancia: thanks to the tireless Ypsilon and Stellantis
Although the last 20 years have been difficult to say the least for the Lancia brand, the Borgo San Paolo company still has many admirers in Italy, and is known by enthusiasts all over the world. Many therefore dreamed of his triumphal return on the European scene, at least after the sad one single-model and single-market exile to which she is forced today, limited to selling the only one Ypsilon on the Italian market.
Until less than a year ago, however, a return seemed impossible, and Lancia was now heading towards closure, with the specter of keeping company with Innocenti, Autobianchi and all the other missing Italian manufacturers. In 2021, however, the first rumors of a possible Lancia return made their way, and now the relaunch is a reality. But how did Lancia manage to survive for so many years alone in Italy and moreover to have a plan for a revival?
The main reasons are two, quite different from each other. The first is the resilience of Ypsilon. This word, so fashionable today, is not out of place here. Although the second generation Ypsilon has turned 10 this year, and for over 4 years it has been sold exclusively on Italian territory, the sales results were incredibly high. Just think that the Ypsilon alone in Italy alone has totaled more units sold than the entire Alfa Romeo range worldwide. So Ypsilon resisted tooth and nail, managing to arrive with excellent sales at the birth of Stellantis. And it was the merger between FCA and PSA that was the real lifeline for Lancia. After the merger, in fact, Lancia was included in the Premium family of Stellantis, together with DS and Alfa Romeo. And in 2020, the Ypsilon alone sold more than both of their respective ranges.
The models for the relaunch: in 2024 the new Ypsilon arrives, first hybrid and then electric
Even though FCA had put almost zero resources and commitment into the brand, thanks to an appreciated project and very interesting real prices Lancia continued to live, arriving at this golden opportunity. According to the Stellantis board, in fact, Lancia has its place in the market. The Turin-based company is different from the sporty Alfa Romeo, and compared to the similar DS it aims at a more mature, more sophisticated audience, with great attention from the female audience, devourers of the current Ypsilon.
After weeks and months of indiscretions, today it is the CEO of Lancia, Luca Napolitano, who breaks the silence. Interviewed by colleagues from Corriere della Sera, the Italian manager, who has headed Lancia since January of this year and who had his first assignment in the FIAT Group in the distant 2000, lets himself go and unveils the programs of the Turin-based company. The Stellantis Group has indeed the ten-year plan approved, which foresees between now and 2031 the expansion of the Lancia range with new models and presence on the entire European market.
We will have to wait a little longer to see the first fruits of this ten-year plan, but the first new Lancia for over 10 years will make its debut as early as 2024, and it will obviously be the new Ypsilon. “It will be only the first step on an accelerated path towards a radical change, to restore credibility to the brand in the premium market. ” Napolitano declares to Corriere colleagues. “Ypsilon is the second best-selling model after the Panda and the car of choice for women.” continues the manager. “But now is the time to look to the future, with different perspectives, legitimized by a history of innovation. ” The new Ypsilon will be born in 2024 as Mild Hybrid, probably using PSA’s CMP platform, but in 2026 the electric version will also arrive for the small chic.
The new Lancia Delta will be made: it will arrive in 2026 and will be electric only
Right in 2026in fact, Lancia will complete the transition to a 100% electric range. According to Napolitano, this transformation is in the DNA of the House, which has always been innovative and ready to bring new technologies to its debut. “We will build cars with a great sense of responsibility towards the world we live in”, continues Napolitano, “since our customers want a clean drive, and the revolution towards pure electric is in line with our tradition of great technological innovation.”
In 2026, a highly anticipated model will also arrive, called out by any car enthusiast: the new one Lancia Delta. We had already anticipated, in our journey through the history of Delta that you find below, that the famous compact could be back in electric guise. And Napolitano confirms that the new Lancias will cover the segments where Lancia did fall in love in the years: compact segment B with the Ypsilon, C segment averages with the Delta e flagships, with the Aurelia and Flaminia first and then with the Thema, between the 80s and 90s.
All three cars will be innovative in design and technology, “in line with a tradition that made Lancias recognizable all over the world for their elegance and modernity. ” explains the CEO Lancia. “We will also return to a male target, with higher average age; a more modern and European client. Our goal is bring Lancia to Europe, in the markets where electric cars are sold in France, Germany and the Nordic countries, focusing on big cities. ” And the highly anticipated Delta? “Everyone wants Delta and it cannot be missing from our plans. ” concludes Napolitano. “Will come back egit will be a true Delta: an exciting car, poster of progress and technology. And obviously Sara electric.”
The third model will be a flagship, and perhaps the HF sports cars will return
The third model, still unpublished and whose name is not even known, but we already know that it is aflagship that will resume the glories of the past, from the Aurelia of the 1950s to the Thema of the 1990s. The electric cars of the Lancia brand will be, as can be easily understood, based on Stellantis STLA modular platforms. More precisely, we assume that the new Ypsilon and Delta will be based on the STLA Small, while the flagship on the larger STLA Medium.
And who will these cars target? What will be the differentiation with DS? Both Lancia, Alfa Romeo and DS will collaborate to design premium cars in synergy for the Stellantis Group, but each brand will have its own distinct personality. Alfa Romeo, of course, will focus on sportiness, while DS on French luxury, elegant but at the same time original and flashy.
For Lancia, on the other hand, a Renaissance, a word that according to Napolitano “expresses all theItalianness which made Lancia great in the world ”. The Lancias will be dedicated to a European audience, while DS has a global dimension according to Stellantis. The new Lancia cars will then be equipped with aclean aesthetics and without excesses. Elegance, modernity and with references and quotes to its glorious past. The example to follow will be the Lancia Aurelia B24 Spider, the favorite of the CEO Napolitano. And they might even come back HF sports version, with the sporty Elephant that made Fulvia, Delta and more great. “HF is a great brand.” Napolitano explained. “However, now we have to move by priority, one step at a time”.
Will Lancia be able to return to the glories of the past?
Electrified, modern, elegant and luxurious. These should be the characteristics of the future Lancias, which in less than three years will return to tread the streets of all of Europe. We conclude by telling you about the selling Web European, now dismantled after the abandonment of mid-2017. If in Italy, in fact, the classic showrooms will remain, in Europe Lancia will focus on an online experience. A Premium distribution model, supported by the Alfa Romeo and DS networks, but without a showroom or single-brand salons. Lancia will aim to make itself known on the web again, without capillarity in the territory, and with the quality of its products.
A certain filter in Turin optimism for the return of the Borgo San Paolo House. A brand that, after years of sacrifices where it has shown all its tenacity, today has a golden opportunity. A train that seemed to have already passed, but which returns to offer Lancia a second chance. This has happened very rarely in the automotive world, and Lancia knows it. As Italians and lovers of the Turin-based company, we hope that the Renaissance will bring Lancia back to the geographical maps, to remain there for several years. And you? What do you think? Do you believe that the return of a historic company like Lancia can work? Or do you think it’s better to focus all resources on one premium brand? Let us know below in the comments – it’s your time.