Stellatis promotes design chief to help resurrect Lancia

Lancia could be making a comeback to the world stage with parent company Stellantis appointing one of its most senior figures to spearhead the Italian company's return.

French designer Jean-Pierre Ploué has been chosen as the new design chief for the marque after being heavily involved within the PSA Group since 1999, serving as its director of design from 2008.

Ploué was a part of Citroën's revival in the early 2000s, with the C4, second generation C5, C6 and DS3 all being released while he was the head of the Citroën Design Centre, also designing the GT by Citroën concept car before his move to the greater PSA Group.

2

Lancia CEO Luca Napolitano (left) with design chief Jean-Pierre Ploué (right)

Despite being appointed as the head of design for Stellantis when PSA and FCA merged earlier this year, Ploué has been given a higher calling by taking up the role of Lancia's new design chief.

For the past decade, Lancia has sold just one model of car, the Ypsilon, which is available only on the Italian market and is based on the Fiat 500, undergoing multiple updates but only in styling.

Poulé sees the opportunity to help Lancia re-emerge as a challenge and hinted at the growing potential for it to become more widely available in Europe.

"[The] Lancia renaissance is a truly exciting challenge," said Ploué.

"Lancia is an iconic brand, which will be restored to its central historical position in Europe, leveraging on its huge potential.’’

Stellantis CEO, Carlos Tavares, recently stated the individual brands of the company will have ten years to prove their worth by sorting out, implementing and showing change before any decisions are made on which will be axed.