Lancia revives! There were already enough rumors and near-certainties, but now Stellantis itself confirms that Lancia must revive and take ‘a central place in Europe’. Jean-Pierre Ploué has the task of ensuring that this is done in the right direction from a design point of view.
Previously we had to make do with somewhat vague prospects. For example, we know that Lancia, together with Alfa Romeo and DS, is part of the premium branch of Stellantis, which was created after the merger of PSA and Lancia parent company FCA. A new CEO was appointed and the brand was to be given ‘ten years of opportunity’. Yesterday we heard from the DS top woman that Lancia must ‘grow and rejuvenate’. All promising, but not very concrete.
Lancia has now gone a step further. Jean-Pierre Ploué, previously PSA design boss and now the drawing chief of all of Stellantis, must personally wave the design scepter at Lancia. Of course he doesn’t do that from France, but from the Centro Stile in Turin. Lancia is an iconic brand, which will be reinstated in the central position in Europe it once held,” he freely said. There is still plenty to conjecture, but everything indicates that Lancia will also show its beautiful face outside of Italy. Moreover, this happens with more than one – small and old – model.
Photo: Jean-Pierre Ploué (left) and CEO Luca Napolitano