Toch een nieuwe Fulvia!
Posted: 11 Aug 2005, 16:29
TURIN - To accelerate performance at struggling Fiat Auto, Sergio Marchionne is pushing a plan to revamp the underperforming Italian carmaker's poorly-performing Lancia brand.
Three of the five extra new Fiat Auto models that Marchionne announced August 4 as part of his new industrial plan will be Lancias.
That shows Marchionne is serious about reigniting Lancia, which had no new products signed off for production when the Fiat Group CEO took personal charge of Fiat Auto in February. Lancia badly needs more models and it needs to expand its dealer network outside Italy. About 81 percent of all Lancias produced are sold in Italy.
The new Lancia models include:
A medium SUV to appear in 2006, derived from a sport-utility, that Suzuki will build for both Lancia and Fiat brands starting late this year in its Esztergom, Hungary plant
The third-generation Delta lower-medium hatchback, derived from the Fiat Stilo replacement. Lancia discontinued the second-generation Delta after 1999
A niche product to appear in 2007, probably a revised version of the Fulvia coupe, shown as a concept at the IAA in Frankfurt in 2003.
Lancia is Fiat Auto's smallest brand, with 103,629 units built in 2004, about 5.5 percent of Fiat's 1.86 million units total.
Lancia is also Fiat's most domestic brand, with 81 percent of 2004 sales in Italy, compared with 49.4 percent for Alfa Romeo and 37.8 percent for Fiat passenger cars.
"Marchionne is absolutely right in pushing for reviving Lancia. It's a very attractive brand with a great history," said Arndt Ellinghorst, head of European automotive research at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in Frankfurt.
Lancia elegance
Lancia perfectly epitomizes the kind of Italian elegance and style that makes Italian fashion and luxury brands such worldwide icons, he said.
But Adam Jonas, analyst for Morgan Stanley in London, said the strategy has potential pitfalls.
"Considering the limited reach of the Lancia brand out of Italy, to put fresh money on it is a high-risk investment," he said.
Jonas believes Marchionne may have another goal with the Lancia revival - filling unused capacity in Italy and avoiding closing more plants.
Lancia desperately needs new models.
The Musa small minivan is Lancia's newest model. It went on sale last September and sold 19,810 in the first six months of this year, according to JATO Dynamics.
After the aging Lybra lower-premium car was discontinued in May, Lancia's product range was cut to just four models: the Ypsilon entry-premium; the Musa; the Thesis medium-premium; and the Phedra large minivan.
Marchionne wants to revive Lancia with minimum extra investment, deriving its main products from mainstream Fiat models. The Ypsilon, Musa, Phedra, next Delta and the next SUV all derive from Fiats.
Former Fiat Auto CEO Giancarlo Boschetti first outlined a low cost, high-return revival plan for Lancia in 2002.
He proposed adding 20 percent to the investment required for a new Fiat brand model to derive a clearly defined Lancia model.
Deriving the Lancia Musa from the Fiat Idea cost E60 million, but the Musa sells for about 10 percent more than an equivalent Idea.
While Idea sales are declining from 35,419 to 25,525 units, down 27.9 percent from January to June, the Musa is beating Lancia's expectations.
Lancia was planning to sell 30,000 Musas in 2005, but it did better than expected and already sold 19,810 units in the first half.
Marchionne also wants to add one or two low-volume halo cars specific to Lancia to help rebuild the brand's image.
Marchionne did not give any short or medium-term production or sales target for Lancia.
Lancia sold 101,000 units in 2003 and 117,000 units in 2004.
Three of the five extra new Fiat Auto models that Marchionne announced August 4 as part of his new industrial plan will be Lancias.
That shows Marchionne is serious about reigniting Lancia, which had no new products signed off for production when the Fiat Group CEO took personal charge of Fiat Auto in February. Lancia badly needs more models and it needs to expand its dealer network outside Italy. About 81 percent of all Lancias produced are sold in Italy.
The new Lancia models include:
A medium SUV to appear in 2006, derived from a sport-utility, that Suzuki will build for both Lancia and Fiat brands starting late this year in its Esztergom, Hungary plant
The third-generation Delta lower-medium hatchback, derived from the Fiat Stilo replacement. Lancia discontinued the second-generation Delta after 1999
A niche product to appear in 2007, probably a revised version of the Fulvia coupe, shown as a concept at the IAA in Frankfurt in 2003.
Lancia is Fiat Auto's smallest brand, with 103,629 units built in 2004, about 5.5 percent of Fiat's 1.86 million units total.
Lancia is also Fiat's most domestic brand, with 81 percent of 2004 sales in Italy, compared with 49.4 percent for Alfa Romeo and 37.8 percent for Fiat passenger cars.
"Marchionne is absolutely right in pushing for reviving Lancia. It's a very attractive brand with a great history," said Arndt Ellinghorst, head of European automotive research at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in Frankfurt.
Lancia elegance
Lancia perfectly epitomizes the kind of Italian elegance and style that makes Italian fashion and luxury brands such worldwide icons, he said.
But Adam Jonas, analyst for Morgan Stanley in London, said the strategy has potential pitfalls.
"Considering the limited reach of the Lancia brand out of Italy, to put fresh money on it is a high-risk investment," he said.
Jonas believes Marchionne may have another goal with the Lancia revival - filling unused capacity in Italy and avoiding closing more plants.
Lancia desperately needs new models.
The Musa small minivan is Lancia's newest model. It went on sale last September and sold 19,810 in the first six months of this year, according to JATO Dynamics.
After the aging Lybra lower-premium car was discontinued in May, Lancia's product range was cut to just four models: the Ypsilon entry-premium; the Musa; the Thesis medium-premium; and the Phedra large minivan.
Marchionne wants to revive Lancia with minimum extra investment, deriving its main products from mainstream Fiat models. The Ypsilon, Musa, Phedra, next Delta and the next SUV all derive from Fiats.
Former Fiat Auto CEO Giancarlo Boschetti first outlined a low cost, high-return revival plan for Lancia in 2002.
He proposed adding 20 percent to the investment required for a new Fiat brand model to derive a clearly defined Lancia model.
Deriving the Lancia Musa from the Fiat Idea cost E60 million, but the Musa sells for about 10 percent more than an equivalent Idea.
While Idea sales are declining from 35,419 to 25,525 units, down 27.9 percent from January to June, the Musa is beating Lancia's expectations.
Lancia was planning to sell 30,000 Musas in 2005, but it did better than expected and already sold 19,810 units in the first half.
Marchionne also wants to add one or two low-volume halo cars specific to Lancia to help rebuild the brand's image.
Marchionne did not give any short or medium-term production or sales target for Lancia.
Lancia sold 101,000 units in 2003 and 117,000 units in 2004.