After a few months of waiting, it's time to take stock of registrations of Lancia in Europe. For while the brand's news is full of good news, such as his return to competition with a program in WRC2However, the reality of registration figures in 2025 remains worrying. Sales are still showing no sign of stability, nor of any real recovery.
Italy: a breath of fresh air
Italy, Lancia's main market, obviously accounts for the bulk of registrations. Between January and April 2025, the brand maintained a decent pace, peaking at 1,110 units in March. But by May (639 registrations), the trend had reversed. June saw a slight upturn (718), and July seemed to mark a jump (800)... before August saw a further fall, with just 446 units.
The Lancia Ypsilon is still in the top 50 of the Italian market, but its 44th place in August illustrates the brand's difficulty in remaining competitive. Admittedly, it is still ahead of the Audi A1, but is clearly outpaced by a city car like the Suzuki Swift.
France: the summer low
In France, the situation is hardly more encouraging. After a decent June with 75 registrations, figures plummeted in July (32) and August (24). These are the lowest levels recorded since the beginning of the year. The eight-month total comes to just 510 units, a volume which clearly does not suggest a rapid recovery.
Spain, Belgium, Netherlands: a commercial desert
In Spain, the picture is similar. After a good April (148 registrations), volumes fell back to just 6 units in August. The year-to-date figure stands at 439 units.
Belgium is an exception... but a relative one. June and July were the best months of the year, with 27 and 22 registrations respectively. But in absolute terms, this remains anecdotal. The Belgian total reached 143 cars over eight months.
In the Netherlands, the brand never managed to get off the ground. Despite a slight upturn in July (23 registrations), August saw just 5 sales, bringing the annual total to 104 units.
Maserati or Lancia: who will register the most?
Add it all up, and the results are striking. From January to August 2025, Lancia registered just 7,809 cars in Europe. At this rate, we can seriously wonder whether Maserati or Lancia will have more registrations by the end of the year. A situation unthinkable just a few years ago.
A brand in search of communication
There's no mystery about the Lancia Ypsilon. Even with the arrival of a less expensive entry-level version, without a hybrid engine, what the brand needs most today is not new versions, but communication. The absence of visible campaigns condemns Lancia to confidentiality, even in its historic markets.
The return to WRC2, while promising, will not be enough on its own to restore visibility. As for the launch of the future Lancia Gamma in 2026, it could represent a unique opportunity to put the brand back in the spotlight. But here again, without a real investment in marketing by Stellantis, we can't expect miracles.
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It would have been better to keep the old one to supplement sales that were outselling the entire DS brand, and to take the time to bring out a "real" product, not one with engines with a disastrous reputation.
To get back on its feet, Lancia needs to stop making volumes its priority and think, like Lexus, about making hyper-reliable models that are truly more HDG, with exemplary finishes and in demand.
It's never worked, and even VAG is proof of that, as they ended up with Audi above them for almost the same price, and Skoda stealing almost all their customers! Only the Lexus/Genesis method works. You need 2 products that make a lasting impression, like the Ghibli and Grecale V6 hybrid under Lancia.
The new Lancia Ypsilon is expensive, unlike the old one.
So the new Ypsilon's audience is probably not the same, because the new Ypsilon is luxurious.
Having rented it in Italy, I was very taken with it, even with the least powerful engine.
Incomprehensibly, Lancia is not present in dealerships selling Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Jeep in France. In the past, Lancia was systematically present in the same dealerships as the other FCA brands.
@Stanislas, comparing the old model with the new one makes absolutely no sense... 2 generations separate them and a segment!
Then again, maybe it was a mistake to use the same name for so many different things!
The clientele is no longer the same: it's that of the A3, Mini, DS3 and now the A290.
We need to turn the page on the Tavares era as soon as possible 😱😱😱
Lancia muß leben. Die Autowelt wäre ärmer ohne sie. Lancia ist innovativ!
Agree!
The 4P rule: Product, Price, Placement, Promotion.
The product is quite successful, even if it's still too generalist for a brand that claims to be premium (it doesn't have the exclusivity of a Mini).
The price is quite high, but since the product is aimed at the premium segment, this shouldn't be a problem. Nevertheless, we come back to the concern about the lack of exclusivity (the 208 base is clearly recognizable).
BMW's problem with Mini is the loss of exclusivity, and it's true that Mini has nothing premium about it, and has had to revise its prices recently and discontinue many of its failed derivatives.
For Lancia, you can't become Premium by starting at the bottom.
Lexus understood this when it launched the world's most reliable and indestructible limousine, which took just 3 years to conquer the USA (Lexus sold more cars in a single year than Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Maserati and Mercedes combined).
Finally..,
In my opinion, the biggest problem is placement, or in this case, the distribution network. Everything has to be rebuilt. Adding the Lancia logo to those of Fiat and Jeep is not the way to attract customers.
Promotion or communication, including advertising, is just as embryonic. Involvement in the WRC is an excellent way forward, especially if successful, but the road is (very) long.
If Lancia wants to sell, it needs communication, we don't see any in the media or on the street, whereas the 208, Corsa, 500, 600, C3, Panda, DS and Junior are entitled to it but not the Ypsilon.
The problem is that Lancia is starting from scratch. At the same level as a Chinese brand that's just arrived on the scene. FCA had abandoned Lancia, confining it to the Italian market only. No one remembers Lancia these days (except those with an interest in cars). Even ten years ago, FCA didn't even make the effort to promote the brand. The last advertisement I can remember was in paper format in the press (Auto journal I think) for the Delta. It goes back...
Add to that the hundreds of Fiat dealerships that have closed in France over the last ten years... It's going to be tough...
It's mostly decoration on a Peugeot 208. There's nothing there.
Perpetual cost-cutting results in products that are aesthetically unfinished. A far cry from the brand's legitimate refinement.
The Delta, which came out nearly 17 years ago (on a "vulgar" Fiat-inspired base), looks much better than this thing, which looks like the natural evolution of the Citroën C3 III and whose progenitor is actually a former designer from the Chevron brand.
The aesthetic research inside was interesting in the sketches, but the final rendering is far too plastic and cramped.
Seriously, what did Stellantis expect? And bringing out a Gamma (I'm sorry, but the name doesn't evoke the best Lancia has to offer!) is just as much of a joke. And I pity the brave customers who dared to buy the Ypsilon.
Un'auto molto costosa, indistinguibile da una Peugeot o da una Opel. Se fosse disponibile una versione da 145 cavalli, almeno si distinguerebbe.
Hello , how can you sell more with less than twenty points of sale , all Alfa Romeo dealerships should be able to sell them with less expensive show roms , think about it at FCA ............
I bought the new Ypsilon and I'm completely satisfied with it. It is not selling but Stellantis is committing suicide by not selling this car....absolutely no advertising in the newspapers, on television or in town. I've already told the Villefranche/ S and Vaise dealers, but I might as well be talking to a wall....incomprehensible.