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Remember the Lancia Ypsilon? It’s Selling Better Than Alfa Romeo In Europe

In the first half of 2019, no fewer than 34,700 cars wearing the Lancia badge were sold in Europe. Read that again, then remember the Ypsilon is the only Lancia in production these days, available exclusively in Italy.
Lancia Ypsilon 11 photos
Photo: S. Baldauf/R. Kah
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June 2019 sales jumped almost nine percent, and year-to-date sales were up 27.7 percent according to ACEA. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association also mentions that Alfa Romeo accounted for 27,702 sales during the period, which means that Lancia is the more popular brand of the two.

Really? How has it come to this? For starters, Alfa Romeo private registrations are on a downward trend. Italy continues to be the best market for the brand, with Spain coming in second. Business registrations are also going the way of the dodo, and Lancia is pull through with the help of strong rebates.

It’s also worth remembering that the Ypsilon – which shares its underpinnings with the Panda – is in a class of its own. Filling the gap between city cars and subcompacts, the only Lancia on sale these days starts at 13,800 euros for the Elefantino Blu trim level. The Black & Noir, Gold, and Platinum complete the range, along with a choice of three engine options.

A 1.2-liter comes standard with stop/start function and 69 ponies, connected to a five-speed manual transmission. An LPG-converted version of the engine is also offered, but your best choice is the 0.9-liter TwinAir with 70 metric horsepower on tap. The Ypsilon Platinum with the range-topping engine is 19,850 euros before other options such as the wheel design and paint color.

Switching over to Alfa Romeo, the MiTo subcompact hatchback is still listed in the configurator even though it’s not long for this world. No fewer than three trim levels are available in Italy, and pricing starts at 13,900 euros.

To end this story on the flip side, Lancia might be doing alright for the time being but chances are Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will pull the plug in the nearest of futures. Alfa Romeo, on the other hand, has an extremely ambitious product plan that includes the return of the GTV and 8C.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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