Alexandre
Since the birth of Stellantis, Lancia, the iconic brand of the Italian automobile, has been preparing an ambitious comeback with several new models. These include the future Lancia Gamma, code name L74, which is starting to attract attention. This C-SUV will complete the range alongside the much-anticipated Ypsilon HF. But what do we already know about this model, due to be launched in 2026?
Made in Italy, STLA Medium platform
Lancia Gamma to be produced at the Melfi plant in Italya historic site where icons such as the Jeep Compass, Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500X are currently manufactured. Based on the STLA Medium platform, already used by Stellantis for new models, it will undoubtedly share features with vehicles like the Peugeot e-3008, which measures 4.54 meters. For comparison, the future Lancia Gamma will be 4.60 metres longThis will give it similar proportions, but with a different interior and exterior design. in line with the Pu+Ra concept.
Ambitious electric and possibly hybrid powertrains
The era of electrification at Lancia is embodied by the Gamma, which will be available in electric version. This version should offer interesting performance, thanks in particular to the HF version due in 2027. Equipped with a dual motor system (front and rear motors), Gamma HF could offer at least 320 horsepower.
However, a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version could also be on the cards. Stellantis to launch a wave of new PHEV models in 2025equipped with the 1.6L engine. This would offer future buyers an alternative to the 100 % electric, as is the case with the hybrid version of the new Lancia Ypsilonaccording to their needs and uses.
Lancia's future: a trio of models
The Lancia Gamma won't be the only new addition to the range. According to the roadmapshe will be closely following the launch of the Ypsilon HF in 2025a sporty, revised version of the current model. Then, in 2028, the Lancia Delta will make its comeback, also on the STLA Medium platform. This C-segment model will be followed by an HF version, promising performance worthy of the legendary Delta of the 80s.
With this trio of models, Lancia is betting everything to keep the brand alive, since its survival depends on their sales.
My God, we've already seen the PU+RA HPE design on the 208 Ypsilon! 🙄
I can't wait for the Italians to take back design control from 100%. If only Italian brands survive the Tavarian strategy! 🥺
The Pu+Ra concept is magnificent. I think that even with a 208, the concept could be better executed by painting the entire C-pillar in black instead of raising the line towards the middle of the rear window. This would visually lengthen the car and the 50/50 aspect is very pleasing. Furthermore, when you advertise yourself as a premium brand, you have to make an effort in terms of materials and colors in the cabin, especially the door panels...
With Tavares, we're announcing ourselves as premium by (very) sharply raising prices and then... that's it.
See DS, a textbook case.
Well, we're going to see a PSA combustion engine again on Lancia and Alfa Romeo hybrids.
The 3-cylinder, 1.2-liter Puretech on the Ypsilon and Junior may still work, but no one is going to motivate me to buy a Gamma, Stelvio or Giulia with a 4-cylinder, 1.6-liter engine from the same family, which is already present on Peugeot, Opel and Citroen/DS.
If that's the case, then bye bye Alfa Romeo after 2 Giulias and a Stelvio, because this brand is only sinking when it was meant to be in the premium category.
In short, Stellantis/PSA is simply destroying the iconic Italian brands that are/were AR, Lancia and Maserati.
I think that the late Marchionne, even with reduced resources, would have been able to properly manage the pretium division he was calling for.
Marchionne ha fatto Voyager, Thema e Flavia rimarchiando tre modelli Crysler....di cosa stiamo parlando?
Are we copying the strategy of the Alfa Romeo debacle for Lancia, Tavares style? That is to say, SUVs that no long-standing customer wants, and that new customers prefer to buy from premium manufacturers on the other side of the Rhine? Putting a Lancia badge on a Peugeot? Bravo! What else is there to say about being wrong? Being stupid? No, it's too polite...
Lancia's historic customers? MDR. Who are they? The last real Lancia came out almost 20 years ago, the Thesis. A marvel, but above all a big flop. As with Citroen's C6, where the only rare customers were retirees. And what have we got since? A Ypsilon that has ensured the brand's existence in Italy for so many years that Lancia has faded from the collective mind. Don't even get me started on the Delta experience, there's no point in going into that...
In short, Lancia's historic customers are no longer with us, or have been elsewhere for ages. The Ypsilon, that car based on an antediluvian Panda 2, powered at one time by twin-cylinder engines and which became a low-cost car of necessity through the years, was prestigious?
Personally, I can only applaud Stellantis for starting from scratch and redesigning a brand that existed but didn't exist. The latest Ypislon is modern, in tune with the times, offering an original and chic alternative to the 208, just as the previous-generation Ypsilon was Fiat's alter chic.
@Stabak: Very good comment.
Re-launching Lancia is an unhoped-for folly, because this brand is dead: 2023 sales represented barely 40,000 units of a small model based on completely outdated technology and sold almost exclusively in Italy. The previous-generation Ypsilon was an antique on wheels...
The most appalling thing is to have included Lancia in the Group's premium division alongside Alfa and DS...
This is all very optimistic, because in reality, the market does not perceive these 3 brands as premium.
Only Alfa seems to me to have a certain legitimacy to be perceived as a "different brand" from "high-end generalist" manufacturers; at best, it belongs to the circle of 2nd-rate premiums like Volvo or Lexus, but with a major difference: sales volumes that have become insignificant (2023 sales below 70,000 units).
Alfa is a dwarf in the automotive world.
In spite of everything, it is a brand that can be reborn, provided that it invents a sportiness that is accessible to the greatest number of people, and that its investments are properly sized with credible sales targets. It's not a foregone conclusion.
Stellantis' investment in Lancia's renaissance is a complete waste: it would have been much wiser to invest in engines (notably a full hybrid for Europe), in the international development of certain brands that are in much better shape, and in strengthening the ranges of the Group's generalist brands (which are very weak compared to VW, Renault, Toyota and the Korean brands).
This next Gamma will be the sister of the next DS8, which itself draws its inspiration from the current 408.
With Peugeot only managing to sell 35,000/40,000 units of the 408 in 2023, this is clearly not a success.
The "crossover" formula doesn't take, despite all the intrinsic qualities of the concept: lower car height, good interior space, excellent comfort, better handling than an SUV, etc...
I agree with you, especially on the crossover concept, which is a flop on the Peugeot 408, will be a flop on the Lancia Gamma, DS 8 and even worse on the AR Giulia, which will finish off this brand.