DS, Alfa Romeo and Lancia are all premium brands under the newly formed Stellantis concern. That will mean more than just categorization.
Stellantis likes to use the word ‘synergy’ in official statements, which of course means that there will be cooperation. This also applies to the brands that are now grouped together under the heading ‘premium’. At PSA, that categorization already applied to DS, but now it finds two Italian premium brothers in Alfa Romeo and Lancia. Under the leadership of the brand new Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato, the brands must work together to each grab a solid point of the premium cake.
What that means in concrete terms becomes clearer thanks to DS product top woman Marion David. He made a statement about it during the unveiling of the DS 4 (photo): “We are working with our Italian colleagues on specific premium models, powertrains and ‘features’ that should distinguish the premium brands from the mainstream brands”, quotes Automotive News. You can say that this is very good news for Alfa Romeo and especially for Lancia. Both brands, with Lancia in the lead, have not introduced new models for a long time.
Alfa Romeo is already known that it will at least come with a compact SUV (the ‘Brennero’) on the CMP base of Groupe PSA. The first fruit of this collaboration. In addition, it is working on the Tonale (photo 2), although that is another car that was already being worked on under FCA. What is in the pipeline for Lancia is still unclear. However, it is to be expected that Lancia will also come up with a compact high-legged model on that CMP basis. That would be Lancia’s first new model in a very long time. Nowadays it only sells the Ypsilon in its home country Italy. Incidentally, there also happens to be concrete product news for Lancia today; the Ypsilon has been facelifted again!