Lancia enters WRC2... but struggles to sell cars

While Lancia has just confirmed its commitment to WRC2 for the 2026 seasonHowever, the brand's commercial situation remains much more fragile. If it manages to surpass the symbolic mark of 10,000 cars registered for the whole of 2025, it will already be a minor miracle.

Stagnant or even declining figures

After a decent start to the year, Lancia registrations continue to reflect the difficulties of a brand that is surviving rather than recovering. In Italy, the main market, the curve remains up and down. In September, just 712 units were sold, a far cry from the peak of 1,110 reached in March. Result: in the first nine months of 2025, 7,325 cars were registered in the peninsula.

The Lancia Ypsilon, still the only model in the catalog, no longer even features in the Italian market's top 50. With 7,324 cumulative registrations, it ranks 47th, behind the Audi A1 (7,453) and far behind the Suzuki Swift (8,690). A powerful symbol: the Italian city car, once the queen of national sales, is losing ground to competitors that are more recent, but better supported commercially.

Internationally, the brand remains invisible

Outside Italy, the situation is no better. In France, sales remained at a very modest level, with 61 registrations in September, in line with the low average for the year, for a total of 571 units since January.

In Spain, where the Ypsilon is assembled, the contrast is striking: just 20 cars sold in September, 459 since the start of the year. In Belgium, the average remained stable at 18 units in September, for a total of 161 cars. In the Netherlands, the market is virtually non-existent: just 3 sales over the month, 107 over nine months. And in Germany, quite simply, the brand is still not on the market.

Of the 8,623 Lancia models registered in Europe since the start of the year, almost 85 % have been registered in Italy. The conclusion is clear: without its domestic market, the brand would already have disappeared from the radar. Lancia remains a local brand, despite its initial determination to become European once again.

Country	January - September 2025
Italy	7325
France	571
Germany	0
Spain	459
Belgium	161
Netherlands	107

10,000 sales: an almost symbolic target

Reaching 10,000 registrations by 2025 now seems achievable, but above all anecdotal. Admittedly, for a brand offering just one model, without the slightest visible advertising campaign, this figure could almost be seen as a success. But in reality, it illustrates the extreme fragility of a brand that is struggling to exist in the face of its cousins Peugeot 208 and Opel Corsa within the same group.

Hope for a revival in 2026

The challenge now lies in the arrival of the future Lancia Gamma, scheduled for 2026. This larger, more ambitious SUV model, aimed at Europe, could finally give the Italian brand a second wind. But Stellantis will have to make a real investment in the brand's communication and positioning. Without visibility, even the best design will remain invisible.