TURIN -- Lancia will return to selling cars outside of Italy in 2024 with three new models, including the fifth generation of the Ypsilon small car with a full-electric version, a flagship compact crossover and a compact hatchback, CEO Luca Napolitano said.
The near-premium brand retreated to the Italian domestic market in 2017, and since then has sold only the fourth-generation Ypsilon, which is the longest model on the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Mini platform that is also used by the Fiat 500 and Panda minicars. The next generation will move to a Stellantis small car platform.
Napolitano, who was appointed head of Lancia in January after the merger of FCA and PSA Group to create Stellantis, told Automotive News Europe in an interview that Europe-wide sales would start with Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Spain in 2024, with UK sales expected to begin at a later date.
Lancia has sold about 3 million Ypsilons since the nameplate debuted as the Y10 in 1985. The next generation will be the first to have a full-electric powertrain as well as the last to have an internal combustion engine (with a 48-volt mild hybrid). Future models will be EV-only, Napolitano said.
Lancia will then launch a flagship model, a compact crossover set to arrive in 2026, potentially to be called Aurelia, followed by a compact hatchback in 2028 that will revive the Delta name.