• Stellantis’ roadmap completely omits the promised Lancia Delta.
  • Lancia’s new restructuring under Fiat puts niche models at risk.
  • Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo is developing a new compact hatchback.

Lancia recently shared the first official photos of the new Gamma, a premium fastback crossover offered with a choice of fully electric and hybrid powertrains. The flagship reaches the road later this year and joins the subcompact Ypsilon in the range, but the Delta’s return, once treated as a done deal, now looks far from certain.

Back in 2021, former Lancia CEO Luca Napolitano promised the Delta would come back as a fully electric car, calling it a manifesto of progress and technology. The official roadmap penciled it in for 2028, arriving after the Ypsilon and the Gamma. However, a recent presentation in Europe suggests a different story.

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A Stellantis slide mapping out future models across its brands carried a glaring omission under the Lancia banner. The Gamma stood as the only fresh or updated Lancia debut before 2030, which leaves the Delta unaccounted for. Roberta Zerbi, who took over as Lancia CEO in November 2025, has said nothing about the Delta project either, pointing the brand’s near-term energy toward the Ypsilon and the Gamma instead. Two absences that line up this neatly rarely happen by accident.

Has Stellantis Cancelled The Return Of Lancia’s Delta?
Lancia Gamma

The sudden disappearance of the iconic nameplate from future plans could be related to the structural changes within Stellantis. The automotive giant is reorganizing its vast brand portfolio in a quest to maximize capital efficiency and streamline resources.

More: Stellantis Swears Its Rebadges Won’t Be Lazy, But Only Four Brands Get 70% Of The Cash

As part of that reshuffle, Lancia now answers to Fiat, while sister brand DS Automobiles has been tucked under Citroen, a move that recasts both as Specialty Brands rather than fully independent operations. The likely cost of that demotion is thinner access to R&D money for future products, with the freed-up capital heading toward other Stellantis brands that management would rather feed.

Someone’s Loss Is Another’s Gain

Has Stellantis Cancelled The Return Of Lancia’s Delta?
Stellantis

Just as Lancia appears to have shelved or delayed the Delta’s comeback, a Stellantis stablemate has confirmed work on a premium compact hatchback aimed at almost exactly the same buyer.

Alfa Romeo is building a spiritual successor to the 147 and the Giulietta. The hatchback will sit on the new STLA One architecture and come with a choice of fully electric and hybrid powertrains. To our ears, it sounds like Stellantis lifted a limb from Lancia and stitched it onto Alfa Romeo.

An Illustrious Past

Has Stellantis Cancelled The Return Of Lancia’s Delta?
An official Stellantis sketch of the Lancia Delta HF Integrale.

If the Delta really is being pushed aside, it closes another chapter for a nameplate whose history runs hot and cold in equal measure. Lancia built three generations of the car and then walked away without lining up a successor, which says a lot about how the brand has treated its own crown jewels over the years.

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The journey started in 1979 with the iconic, Giugiaro-designed original that stuck around until 1994. Across that run, the Delta reached motorsport immortality, taking six straight WRC constructors’ titles for Lancia between 1987 and 1992. The road-going HF Integrale versions set the standard for hot hatches and have since climbed into collector’s-jewel territory, with prices to match.

The second generation, styled by the I.DE.A Institute on a Fiat Tipo platform, had a much shorter run from 1993 to 1999. After a lengthy hiatus, the Delta returned in 2008, sharing its DNA with the Fiat Bravo and Alfa Romeo Giulietta while trading its aggressive racing pedigree for premium comfort. The last example rolled off the line in 2014, leaving Lancia with a single model. Hopes for a fourth-generation Delta flared up in 2021, but the latest announcement leaves fans in the dark.

Has Stellantis Cancelled The Return Of Lancia’s Delta?
Lancia originally planed a three-model lineup by 2030.