TORINO – The reference market is that of Europe and the brand, reoriented to electricity, will be projected towards the on-line channel where it should make 50% of sales. The rest will be entrusted to a network of 100 delaers which will cover the 60 main metropolitan areas. These are the pillars of the development plan of Lancia, a brand with historical roots, a symbol of Made in Italy, but a brand that must rediscover and rebuild its position at the level of the Old Continent after being relegated only to Italy and risking the extinction. The new course, taken with the birth of Stellantis and the choice of CEO Carlos Tavares to place Lancia, together with DS and Alfa, among the premium brands, has begun.
Leading the rebirth Luca Napolitano, CEO of Lancia, who presented the new European team in Turin with the various country managers: Paola Picchieri for France, Niccolò Biagioli for Germany, Francesco Colonnese for Spain, Patrice Duclos for Belgium and Luxembourg, Patrick Zegwaard for the Netherlands and Raffaele Russo for Italy. “Our goal is not just to launch a new product. We are here to set up a relaunch strategy for the Lancia brand.” Great Britain is missing, an area on which, however, “there could be a rethinking and an opening in the future”, underlines Napolitano.
“We expect a massive use of digital, outside Italy. We will do our part, developing innovative tools and services, but we consider it mandatory to start where the use of digital is growing more and more”, says the CEO of Lancia. “Outside of Italy we foresee a massive use of the digital channel. Here we expect 50% of sales to take place online”, said Napolitano who spoke of a “positive attitude towards Made in Italy. Lancia is the Italian elegance by definition, this is our heritage and our DNA and this is why we have decided to approach those markets where Italian products, quality and lifestyle have a value “
The pieces have already been set: in 2024 the new Ypsilon. The start is from Italy and from segment B, the one where, within the borders, the current Ypsilon is the best-selling car after the Panda. Then it will land in France, Holland, Belgium, Germany and Spain in the first half of 2024. The one that will debut in just over a year and a half “will be different, bigger, it will also appeal to a bigger audience”, says Napolitano who has the mock-up of the vehicle was unveiled to the managers of the EU markets: “In terms of style, almost everything is defined, 99%, only one detail is missing”.
In 2026, the date from which the brand will launch only electric cars, it will also be the year of Lancia’s return to the world of flagships. The project is that of the Aurelia, a myth of the four wheels, but it is a nickname because in reality it is likely that in the end another name will be chosen for the model: “There are still many letters of the Greek alphabet”.
Another project, this time in 2028, will be the return of Delta, “The name has not been decided, but we want it to be called Delta”, underlines the CEO. And he adds: “A streamlined program with which Lancia is ready to reappear in Europe – says Napolitano – together with DS, Alfa and Maserati, we have the objective of quintupling profits and working together to strengthen the premium offer of Stellantis in Europe according to the plan presented by Tavares. We are there “.