Lancia to build new e-fastback in Italy

Franco-Italian automaker Stellantis will continue the revival of its Lancia brand as an EV-focused marque by constructing its planned new flagship fastback BEV at its Melfi plant in Italy. The model is the second in a sequence of three launches that aim to re-internationalise a brand that has shrunk to only its home country.

The BEV will launch in 2026, following the debut next year of a new Ypsilon B-segment hatchback that will come initially as both BEV and hybrid. From 2028, Lancia plans to sell only BEVs. Both the 2026 fastback and 2028’s launch of a new Lancia Delta will be BEV-only from the start.

The Melfi plant is one of the European sites selected by Stelllantis to produce BEVs on its STLA Medium platform. It is will be “perfect for Lancia”, suggests Luca Napolitano, the brand’s CEO

“As a native BEV platform, it will be highly efficient to optimize comfort, and will be available in both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive versions,” Napolitano says, promising a range of 700km+. “The car will take the Italian spirit around Europe, with almost 50pc of the units sold out of Italy,” he continues.

And these pan-European ambitions are a significant landmark for the brand. Since 2017, its sole product has been an ICE version of the Ypsilon, sold only in Italy.

But, by the first half of 2024, the brand will return to Europe more widely with a network of more than 70 new dealerships across France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands selling the new BEV and hybrid Ypsilons.

“We have created dedicated teams who are working on making Lancia a desirable, respected and credible brand in the European premium market,” Napolitano says.