Alexandre
It's been in the works for almost a year, Lancia (re)confirms today its renaissance plan with the launch of 3 new models every 2 years starting in 2024.
To achieve this relaunch, Lancia will base itself on existing (or future) Stellantis models, with a premium positioning like Alfa Romeo and DS. "Premium Luxury" according to the release. The Lancia brand will try to differentiate itself with innovative materials, Italian style and simple and intuitive on-board technology...
In 2024 the new Lancia Ypsilon will be launchedIt is a B-segment car with a 100 % electric and hybrid engine. It will be a cousin of the Peugeot e-208 and the Opel Corsa-e.
In 2026, a 100 % electric "flagship" will be launched, Aurelia. Without saying more, Lancia announces that the car will be 4.60m long and will allow the brand to enter the largest car segment of the moment. Perhaps a cousin of the future Peugeot e-408 (SUV coupe) should be unveiled this year or a cousin of the Peugeot 3008, a compact SUV.
In 2028, the new Lancia Delta will be launchedThis 4.40 m long car could be a cousin of the future Peugeot e-308, which is to be launched in 2023.
These three new models will cover 50 % of the European market.
In the end, with these 3 models, Stellantis will try to save a brand, which will have to be profitable to survive, and propose other models after 2028.
For the marketing of these future Lancia models, the brand will be present in Europe in 60 major cities via a network of 100 distributors hopes to achieve 50 % of its sales online.
C is particularly long. Even if the brand is revived, it will be with "Peugeot" branded products. And in view of their current problems in terms of thermal engines, confidence will only hinder sales.....
Stellantis, just created, already has a big thorn in his side: Peugeot!
Too bad for Lancia....
From what I understand, only the ypsilon will be offered in MHEV at the beginning, otherwise the whole range will be 100 % electric, so no internal combustion engine. For the moment, it's impossible to know which electric motor will be used.
3 models is not much. But it's still better than the void we've seen in recent years.
I can't wait to see this Ypsilon so that we know what direction the Lancia brand will take. Let's hope they don't do what they did with Opel where the Corsa and Astra are more or less rebadged Peugeots. After all, Lancia and Opel don't play in the same category so we can always hope for a better treatment for Lancia than for Opel! A DS4 is much more different from a 308 than an Astra so anything is possible!
I hope that the time spent - several years - will allow them to propose a specific design and in coherence with the iconic models of the brand, otherwise it is time and money lost...
What is the point? The ecologists (who represent nothing in France, barely 4.5 percent of the population) have decided, with the cowardice of a majority in the European Parliament, to put an end to the democratic thermal car.
I keep my little diesel car which consumes between 3.2 and 4 liters of diesel per hundred kilometers (with a light hybridization we could do even better), and I'm not interested in cars anymore. And what is all this for? For the climate, it seems, no kidding. If there is a very slight warming at the moment, it is because we are in an interglacial period (with ups and downs) and the planet is overpopulated. There was already a warming between the year 800 and the year 1300 (which is why the center of European civilization moved from the Mediterranean basin to the Rhine during the Carolingian period), then a small glaciation between 1330 and 1430, then a new warming during the Renaissance, and then a new small glaciation at the end of the 17th century. In any case, in 10 000 years London and Paris (at the latest) will be under the ice pack, and it will be colder in Rome than in Moscow today. I recommend reading Leroy-Ladurie's Histoire du Climat depuis l'an mil, and more generally the study of the last Würm glaciations to understand the ridiculousness of the projections of the IPCC fanatical ideologists. And I do not address the issue of the production and recycling of batteries, it would take on my sleep!
We don't have the same analysis of the situation... On the one hand, the IPCC members are not "ideologists" but scientists, who are hardly listened to by our elected officials, or at least not at all, and on the other hand, the electric propulsion mode doesn't mean at all to finish with the Italian car, even less "passion". I was quite afraid to see 2.2 ton Alfa's arriving in the German panzer style - and then goodbye to the pleasure of driving - but I see that Renault was able to produce a "family" model of 1.600 kgs, so it is possible to do even better, especially with carbon elements and new generation batteries. We'll have to be smart, go straight to fast charging, to the 800V circuit, optimize the available space on board instead of selling cramped 508s, prevent Tavares from sabotaging the UConnect system by economies of scale, not take over visible Faurecia parts as is the case with Opel, avoid ugly and/or dull colors with almost no options for the seats, The angular and unsightly Audi-like design - the huge screens built in by hand are a no-no, long live the HUD - and favor a timeless and fluid style that never goes out of style with reasonable wheel sizes (18 inches max) and harmonious bodywork to integrate them, think of a frunk under the hood, a well-placed plug, etc. And for Lancia it's a huge opportunity to come back to the forefront.
I don't know if you realize it, but with the emission standards to be respected, we have seen Alfa's that were clearly underpowered during the last decades, and a simple ID.3 also sends 200 horsepower to the rear wheels, like a Giulia, and it accelerates very hard. The Tonale starts with 70 less horsepower, in front wheel drive. It should even be possible to simulate the behavior of a twin turbo electronically (without the fake sound, thanks). If you work well, you can come back to the forefront by making very reliable and fun models, but if you work badly, you can totally disappear in front of the Chinese competitors. I hope that Alfa will choose the pleasure of driving, the Italian specificity and the exclusive and local partners that the brand knows.
The high temperatures of July 2022 in France have an astronomical explanation. Solar cycles (11 years and 800 years) are at work... and CO2 emissions from cars are anecdotal:
"On 7/19/2022 at 3:15 PM. A sudden solar flare, which started on July 15, released a large amount of coronal mass ejection. It is heading straight for Earth. The intense activity of the Sun, currently in an 11-year cycle, continues."
- In short, scrapping combustion cars and trying to sell expensive electric cars would be good business, but alas, new car sales have been plummeting for the past 2 years. People are really waiting for something else.
As announced, the interior furniture looks beautiful, and signed Cassina on the concept. What a beautiful velvet and color!