Lancia plots UK return in summer of 2009

The brand confirmed the recruitment process will kick off in the autumn.

“Serious discussions will commence at the Paris Motor Show in September when we will give potential dealers the opportunity to experience the brand and the Lancia Delta,” said a UK spokesman. Talking to Motor Trader, Lancia brand chief Olivier Francois said it would be sold through 22 Alfa sites in the UK with sales starting here after the network has settled down after its current revamp. The brand's UK office, however, hinted that sales may not be restricted to Fiat Group sites. “We expect the majority of the dealers to be from the Alfa Romeo network - the remainder are not necessarily Fiat dealers,” said the spokesman. The brand was previously scheduled to re-enter the UK this summer but was delayed, according to Francois, because “we want the comeback to be perfect”. It is believed that negotiations with prospective dealers have begun. Francois said Lancia should ideally have separate showrooms “even if they share the same entrance as Alfa Romeo”. Lancia withdrew from the UK in 1994 after years of poor sales; it sold 750 cars in its last year. More recently it largely retreated to its domestic market and was nearly closed in 2004. The brand, however, now plans to increase continental sales with the imminent launch of a new Delta. Fiat Group boss Sergio Marchionne has set Lancia a sales target of 300,000 cars a year by the end of the decade. Last year it sold 124,000 and it expects to reach 150,000 this year. UK dealers will only sell new generation Lancia models with the Delta spearheading the brand's return in June. Hot on its heels will be the new Ypsilon hatchback which should reach dealers here by the end of 2009. “The UK will get all new Lancia models in right hand drive as and when they come on board,” said the spokesman.