Stellantis confirms that Fiat and Lancia will work together «as in Lancia's heyday».»

At the presentation of his new strategic plan «FaSTLAne 2030», the new boss of Stellantis, Antonio Filosa, detailed his vision for the Group's next five years to BFM Business. Between electrification, Chinese partnerships, industrial reorganization and the future of global brands, the future of Lancia seemed particularly vague. But a recent statement by the CEO particularly caught our attention: Fiat and Lancia will work together again, «as in the splendid days of Lancia».

This sentence, uttered almost naturally by Antonio Filosa, is not insignificant. In fact, it gives a fairly clear idea of the Group's future strategy for two historic brands that have long shared much more than just platforms.

An assertive return to a recipe from the past

When asked about the future of the Group's brands, Antonio Filosa reassured us that none of them would disappear. Neither DS nor Lancia. But rather than talk of downsizing or mergers, the CEO spoke of a new organization based on intelligent synergies. He used the example of Fiat and Lancia to explain his vision. According to him, the two brands will once again operate as a single team, just as they did in the years when Lancia enjoyed its greatest commercial successes.

Antonio Filosa recalls several emblematic duos of this era: the Fiat Idea and the Lancia Musa, the Fiat Ulysse and Lancia Phedra, or the Fiat Tempra and Lancia Phedra. Lancia Dedra. Technically similar models, but designed for different customer groups, with distinct identities.

«This means that Fiat and Lancia will be working together as one team. And that's exactly how it was before, in Lancia's heyday. Back then, Fiat launched the Fiat Idea, while Lancia offered the Lancia Musa. Fiat launched the Fiat Ulysse and Lancia was present with the Lancia Phedra. Fiat launched the Fiat Tempra and Lancia offered the Lancia Dedra, with many features in common but a distinctive offering aimed at a particular clientele.»

Antonio Filosa, CEO of Stellantis

A strategy inspired by the DS / Citroën model

Antonio Filosa also cites the example of DS and Citroën. According to him, DS was historically Citroën's top-of-the-range arm, and Stellantis would like to return to this type of logic. In this scheme, Fiat could retain its role as a popular generalist brand, while Lancia would offer a more refined, premium and emotional interpretation of the same technical foundations.

For us, this statement is all the more surprising given that the latest Lancia models launched by Stellantis have mainly been perceived as Peugeot cousins. The new Lancia Ypsilon is largely based on the Peugeot 208, while the future Lancia Gamma will be technically very close to the Peugeot 3008. So far, Stellantis« strategy has given the impression of a Lancia integrated into the Group's »French" division. Antonio Filosa's comments, however, seem to point to a different development for the future. Referring explicitly to the old Fiat/Lancia associations of the 1990s and 2000s, the Stellantis CEO hints that future Fiat models could serve as the basis for more elegant, premium variants under the Lancia label.

In the final analysis, the question is perhaps mainly a marketing one. A Lancia technically close to an Italian Fiat would probably be better accepted by some customers than a Lancia perceived as a mere offshoot of a Peugeot. Stellantis seems to have perfectly understood that, for Lancia, image and identity count almost as much as technology itself.

A new identity for Lancia?

It now remains to be seen what Lancia will actually become in this new organization. For several years now, the Italian brand has been seeking to rebuild itself after a long period of near-disappearance. With the new Lancia Ypsilon, then the future Lancia Gamma, Stellantis clearly wants to restore Lancia's place in Europe. Now there's the question of the future Lancia Delta.

And if we want to be a bit of a tease, we could almost extrapolate the group's future strategy: imagine a future Fiat compact developed with technologies from Stellantis' Chinese partnerships, why not around Leapmotor, then declined in a more chic, more status-oriented version under the Lancia badge. After all, Antonio Filosa has just explained that this was already the recipe of the past. We'll have to wait and see.