Lancia to return on six European markets

Stellantis’s daughter Lancia confirms its return to Belgium and Luxembourg on the occasion of the presentation of Lancia Pu+Ra HPE at the Residence of the Italian Ambassador in Brussels. Other European countries to return to are the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, and Portugal.

The iconic Italian brand has a history of 117 years but disappeared from all markets except Italy in 2016. In its home country, it continued to sell its smallest car, the Ypsilon, with enduring success. In 2022, the 13-year-old car sold 41 000 times and was first in its category.

Now, with the support and approval of the big bosses at Stellantis, it will try to reconquer the rest of the world again, starting in six European markets. Last Thursday, at the Italian embassy in Brussels, Lancia CEO Luca Napolitano commented on this.

“Lancia is now back in Belgium and Luxembourg with the European tour of Lancia Pu+Ra HPE, the brand manifesto for the next ten years in terms of design, interior home feeling, sustainability, electrification, and effortless technology.”

“Belgium and Luxembourg are countries that mean a lot to the brand because of their love for the ‘Made-in-Italy’ style and design and the importance of the B segment in these markets,” he added. “We want to make Belgium and Luxembourg two of the main European markets for our brand, making Lancia a desirable, respected, and credible brand in the European premium market.”

Ten ‘retailers’, thirteen service points

“The return of Lancia in Belgium and Luxembourg is a memorable day for the Lancia brand team, for enthusiasts of the brand, and for all our potential future customers,” said Milosz Tomanek, Director of the Stellantis Premium Cluster in Belgium and Luxembourg.

“As soon as we announced Lancia’s return to Belgium and Luxembourg, we set up a dedicated team to work on and implement the brand Renaissance, making Lancia the brand that embodies the Italian elegance,” he added.

“For the launch of the new Ypsilon in 2024, we will have ten retailers and 13 after-sales service points. We are ready to have Lancia back and make Belgium and Luxembourg two of the main European markets for Lancia,” he concluded.

Three premium models

With Alfa Romeo and DS, Lancia will be the third brand inside Stellantis to aim for the premium market. In 2024, Lancia will launch its new Ipsylon as its first production model, in hybrid and fully electric versions.

In 2026, the second model is planned: the Lancia Gamma will be a C-segment SUV. Two years later, we will witness the return of another icon, the Lancia Delta.

As of 2026, Lancia will only launch 100% electric models; from 2028, it will only sell 100% electric cars. As demonstrated by innovative materials, the strategic plan will pay great attention to sustainability: 50% of the touchable surfaces will be eco-sustainable.

By the first half of 2024, the brand will have 70 new retailers in 70 major European cities. The strategy involves a new efficient and innovative distribution model, with a selected number of retailers based on a key concept of Lancia Renaissance: quality.

The new showrooms will provide customers with an immersive online and offline experience, recreating a ‘home feeling’ atmosphere, thanks to materials, colors, and attention to detail inspired by Italian architecture and design.

For old-times sake

“In Belgium, there is a new and an old generation of people originating from Italy, said the Italian Ambassador Federica Favi to L’Echo. “All-in-all, that’s 300 000 Italians, and it’s a community that still has a heart for its home country.”

In Belgium, Stellantis will, of course, use its extensive Stellantis network for the (re)integration of the Lancia brand, but they will have dedicated ‘retail shops’. Stellantis will try to capitalize on the strong B2B market of company cars.

“We see a growth in the premium segment in Belgium,” says Tomanek. We arrive with the right car at the right moment in the right segment. The premium B segment in Belux represents some 15 000 cars yearly.”

“Most important is to create a new sort of passion, an essential feat if one wants to sell premium cars,” says Francesco Colonnese, Business Development Manager at Lancia Europe, prudently. “We have to stand out, to be different from the many other brands that want to make it on the market. Physically, we are back now, but mentally, we’ve never been away,” he insists.