Lancia’s CEO, Luca Napolitano, stated to Automobile-Propre that he has high ambitions for the new Lancia Ypsilon, presented last February. Napolitano declared that he aims for the same sales success as the previous generation, which remained at the top of sales rankings in Italy until the end of its production. This is a very challenging goal due to the higher price of the new model compared to the old one, but the chances of success become more concrete thanks to the fact that the vehicle will also be marketed in other European markets.
New Lancia Ypsilon was supposed to be an SUV: “Too big for our customers”
“Becoming a brand premium means first and foremost keeping our promises. We have a very clear business plan, but I won’t go into specifics. The old Ypsilon sold about 45,000 units per year: we want to maintain this sales volume,” declared Luca Napolitano. “We were brave to stop the production of the old Ypsilon, which could have brought us additional profits. However, continuing with this car would have been an excuse not to do what we had planned: to become a premium brand within Stellantis.”
Lancia‘s CEO also revealed that, initially, the new Lancia Ypsilon was supposed to be an SUV, similar to what happened with the Fiat Grande Panda. “Three years ago, the new generation of Ypsilon was supposed to be an SUV. So I asked Carlos Tavares if it would be possible to scale down the project to avoid competing with some Stellantis models,” such as the Grande Panda, Fiat 600, or Alfa Romeo Junior.
“Our current fleet is often used in urban centers. A vehicle 4.25 meters long seemed too big to us. Considering that the old Ypsilon measures 3.84 meters, bringing the new model to 4.25 meters would have been impossible.” The growth in terms of dimensions of the new generation is still very significant, given that it measures 4.08 meters in length. We remind you that the new Lancia Ypsilon is available in both hybrid and fully electric versions and, initially, will be available in Italy, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Later, it will also debut in other European markets. Moreover, during 2025, an electric sports version of the model will also debut on the market: the Ypsilon HF. Additionally, the brand will return to the world of rallying with a version featuring a 212 HP internal combustion engine.