Lancia badge to return with a slew of new models

By dpa | 26 May 2022


BERLIN: The languishing, once-great brand of Lancia is poised for a grand comeback, starting with an electrified version of the Ypsilon minicar.

Marque boss Luca Napolitano confirmed that the runabout will return in 2024 followed two years later by a flagship crossover bearing the name Aurelia, one of Lancia's most famous bygone models.

Lancia, Alfa Romeo and DS plan to offer only electric models from 2030 onwards, said Napolitano.

A revived Delta saloon has also been pencilled in: "It will return and it will be a true Delta – an exciting car, a manifesto of progress and technology, and obviously it will be electric," the manager earlier told the Corriere Della Sera newspaper.

Lancia produced three generations of the Delta before dropping the model from its range without a successor.

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The first version in 1979 was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and it stayed in production with numerous updates until 1994.

Owner Stellantis is keen to revive Lancia as a premium brand using the concern's technical platform which also underpins its Alfa Romeo and DS models.

For decades Lancias were known for elegant styling, with the Flaminia and later the upmarket Thesis.

The brand withdrew from many markets in 2017 after its image had been watered down for years by a series of badge-engineered Chrysler models which carried the Italian moniker.

Lancia still sells a combustion-engined version of the Ypsilon in Italy but the car is not exported.

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