Fiat has stalled plans to relaunch Lancia in the UK again and may cancel them altogether.
Right hand drive Lancias were scheduled to be sold in the UK in early 2010, with the all-new Delta leading sales but officially imports have been postponed now until at least 2011. However, Fiat UK marketing director Elena Bernadelli has revealed the relaunch of Lancia in the UK “is now very unlikely”. She added that right hand drive Lancias may now not be made.
In a separate interview, a Fiat spokesman conceded that the company’s alliance with Chrysler had diverted resources, and added that launching an expensive, niche premium-brand product-line in Europe is not currently a priority. The spokesman suggested that it is not financially viable to re-engineer cars including the Delta and forthcoming Ypsilon supermini for a right hand drive layout.
