Fiat planning to shelve Lancia if it acquires Opel

Now it is dawning on Sergio Marchionne, Fiat Boss, that it may be spreading his company’s resources too thin with the acquisition of Chrysler, Opel and the Brazilian operations of GM. There is a report saying that the Fiat Boss is planning to shelve the premium brand Lancia in exchange for a successful brokerage of a deal to purchase Opel.

Furthermore, the report says that the plan of Marchionne after they obtain Opel would be to axe the Lancia from the company’s range. The company sold only 100,000 Lancias in 2008. However, the head of the Lancia dealers association, Alessandro Alexandre, does not agree with the reports saying that the Lancia is doing well in the domestic market with good segment shares.
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Anthony - 5/20/2009 10:39:41 PM

+2 Boost

Yeah, I'd rather have Lancia continue existing instead of Opel, and this is coming from an American.

lamborrari - 5/22/2009 2:25:29 AM

+1 Boost

Lancia has been dying for years, this isn't news to me.

The only all-new model Lancia has released in the past 5 years is the Delta. The Thesis is being phased out by the end of this year (it's been in production since 2002). The Phedra minivan has also been on the market for 7 years and is on it's last legs. The only factory that exclusively produces Lancias (and only the Ypsilon at that), the Termini plant in Sicily, is due to be shut down soon. Even with the recent $60 million EU grant, the factory just isn't profitable anymore and produces cars under a brand name that has been significantly tarnished over the years. The only market Lancia has a recognizable presence in is in Italy. The UK relaunch of the Lancia brand has been delayed indefinitely. It's only a matter of time before Lancia dies out.

The Delta might get rebranded as a Fiat (replacing the dumpy Multipla as if it were designed to do so anyway), and that will be the end of Lancia as we know it. Most Lancias are sold by dealers that sell other Fiat products rather than standalone dealerships, so phasing the brand out won't be too difficult.