All things considered, Lancia had a good year in 2020.
The things to consider are that there was a pandemic (obviously), that the marque is now sold only in its native Italy and that its sole model, the Ypsilon city car, is a decade old this year. Despite which, no less than 43,081 Ypsilons found buyers – slightly fewer than the 43,165 people who bought a DS Automobiles product. And the DS 3 Crossback and DS 7 Crossback aren’t remotely close to 10 years old.
By now, in fact, Lancia was expected to have died as the appeal of the Ypsilon withered. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles had investigated the possibility of reviving Lancia, not least by using the pretty 1960s-Fulvia-coupé-inspired Fulvietta concept as a flagship. But according to Olivier François, who led that investigation and remains head of the Fiat brand within Stellantis, it simply wasn’t possible to make a business case for the marque.
Today, however, Lancia is part of Stellantis and bundled with Alfa Romeo and DS as one of three premium brands. The difference now is that, in theory, there are many more platforms from which to construct a Lancia line-up. In theory, because the rebuilding of Lancia must be around the 456th priority for Carlos Tavares and his team, which has plenty on its plate, not least the struggles of Lancia’s premium stablemates.
But there may be an early, relatively low-cost win to be had, which is to replace the Ypsilon using the platform of the new electric Fiat 500. A premium electric city car is surely the ideal evolution for this chic little runabout, requiring a reasonably modest investment in new skin panels and a different interior.
The renewal of the Ypsilon isn't enough on its own to interest any dealer group outside Italy, but more ambitiously, how about an electric Fulvia coupé reimagined as a small, luxurious fastback SUV, and an electric four-wheel-drive Delta Integrale? The hot Delta is now Lancia’s most famous model, and the prices these cars command prove that it still resonates.
Picking through back catalogues isn’t the only way to revive a brand, of course: something new and knockout usually provides a more reliable business future. Lancia was all about understated, elegant Italian luxury, as well as refined and technologically accomplished performance. All qualities entirely compatible with electrification. So a range of electric Lancias, perhaps sold on subscription only, isn’t impossible to imagine.
Of course, these idly speculative thoughts are about a low-priority brand. But it’s good to dream, and Tavares has said that Stellantis has no plans to ditch any marques. One Luca Napolitano is the boss of the Lancia brand; let’s hope he’s ambitious for it.
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They need a brand cull. Lancia's model range is currently 1 small city car. What does Lancia mean to anyone outside of Italy in 2021? Either nothing, or something that was already rusting away in the showroom, depending on your age!
What are all the various Stellantis brands going to be? It's just going to end up being BL all over again, where everything competes against everything else.
Assuming that they keep Arbarth for niche performance, Maserati for luxury, Jeep for SUVs, and the other American brands as not for Europe, are they really going to produce a Golf competitor that is an Alfa, DS, Fiat, Lancia, Peugeot, Vauxhall/Opel?
Is an SUV going to be all of those plus Jeep?
VW don't have anything like as many brands, and they have struggled to find a niche for Seat. Audi is the posh one. VW is the middle of the road one. Skoda is the value brand. Seat was supposed to be the sporty one.
It could be that the best type of EV is to make a posh city car. EVs work well in the city, but are too expensive, which is less of a problem on something posh (and already expensive). It also wouldnt need too much range keeping the total cost under control.
I do hope Stellantis make full use of their platforms to keep smaller brands around. I am sure DS could make use of a slightly modified new Ypsilon for a posh city car of their own
Integrale yes, Fulvia coupe yes. But Lancia was also about elegant family and sporty GT cars. My particular favourites being the Flaminia, both saloon and coupe.
While Maserati is not quite Ferrari in terms of super or hyper car, not-quite successful sporty saloon grand tourer either, it's time to revive the Lancia brand in favour of Maserati as Lancia has a much more varied back catalogue for inspiration to draw upon.