FCA to Stop Making Small Cars in Italy, Lancia Could Be in Trouble

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FCA to Stop Making Small Cars in Italy, Lancia Could Be in Trouble

18 May 2018, 14:36 UTC · by Mircea Panait
/ Home / News / Industry

As you might know already, Fiat Chrysler has invited the media on June 1st in Balocco, Italy to announce the 2018 – 2022 business plan. On that fateful Friday, chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne is expected to confirm two new Alfa Romeo models, along with two hybridized drivetrains. But wait, there’s more!
11 photos Bloomberg understands that Marchionne prepares “a sweeping transformation of production in Italy that will see the company abandon the manufacture of the budget Punto and Mito cars in favor of upscale models.”
Citing “people familiar with the plan,” the business publication suggests that the historic plants in Turin and Naples “will be retooled to produce new Maserati and Jeep SUVs.”
In case you were wondering, this isn’t a new concept for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles if you remember that the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 were phased out in the U.S. to make room for more SUVs and trucks. Ford is pulling off a similar stunt in the United States, aiming to cut down the passenger-car lineup to just two models.
Turning our attention back to Europe, the decision would translate in the relocation of Fiat Panda production to Poland. The Punto would stop production in Melfi towards the end of 2018, while the Mirafiori-made Alfa Romeo MiTo would stop rolling off the assembly line to make room for a new Maserati sport utility vehicle.
The Pomigliano plant, on the other hand, is understood to gear up for “a small Jeep SUV after production of the Panda is moved to Poland.” Bearing in mind this strategy paid off in the United States of America, there’s no denying Europe is next in line.
According to Bloomberg, the strategy “will also mark the end of diesel engines in the carmaker’s small European vehicles. These will be powered by electric hybrid motors going forward.” On the other hand, what will happen to Lancia?
Kept on life support for quite some time now, Lancia is a one-model (Ypsilon) and one-country (Italy) brand. Produced in Tychy, Poland at the same plant where the 500 is made, the Ypsilon will have reached the end of its product cycle in late 2018. The future looks bleak, to say the least.
A few years ago at the Geneva Motor Show, the sweater-over-shirt-wearing Marchionne told the media: “We have curtailed our ambitions for Lancia. The market has moved on and not every opportunity can be realized.”
In other words, there are two possible outcomes. FCA either sells the brand or Lancia will disappear altogether.

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