Lancia’s sales model will evolve, too, he said.
About half of the brand’s target customers will opt for internet sales in the second part of this decade, Napolitano said, reducing the number and the size of needed showrooms.
“I envision about 100 showrooms in about 60 European cities,” he said, adding that they will not be corners in another brand’s showrooms but dedicated spaces, despite a small footprint of 80 to 140 square meters.
As with the other brands in Stellantis’ premium cluster, Lancia will move to a retail agent distribution model starting on June 1, 2023.
With the traditional franchise model, the dealer owns the inventory of vehicles and then sells them to customers. Franchised dealers sustain higher costs – including paying for the showroom’s corporate identity – which are compensated by higher margins.
Under the agency model, the automaker keeps the inventory until the vehicle is sold by the retail agent to a final customer, private or fleet. Retail agents receive a smaller commission, but their costs are lower, given that inventory financing and corporate identity are the responsibility of the automaker.
Napolitano declined to elaborate on the commission structure to be offered to Lancia retail agents, saying that “productive discussions are still ongoing.” But he said the brand will have a simplified product offering, with preset packages of options to streamline production and inventory.
Tavares has not offered sales or profit targets for Lancia; Stellantis is expected to unveil a detailed plan for its 14 brands in early 2022.
But in a nutshell, Napolitano said he sees Lancia as “humble but determined, not weak.”
Source: https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/lancia-ceo-outlines-brands-expansion-plans-europe