Fiat to eliminate and rebrand Chrysler cars as Lancias in Europe

The move will see Chrysler produces built in the US sold as Lancias in Europe, through Lancia dealerships. Cuts and transformations in the distribution pipeline are also planned, as the Chrysler name will be eliminated from Europe altogether.

The move is the opposite in the US, where current Lancia models will be imported and rebadged as Chrysler. However, there has been speculation that Fiat may be preparing to leverage the Chrysler distribution network for a return of Fiat and its sub-brands to the US, eventually doing away with Chrysler altogether.

The reshuffle in Europe means that 350 of the existing 1200 Chrysler and Lancia dealerships will be closed, and the rest will be expanded to accommodate the new models. Lancia currently only has four models in their line-up, but the addition of the Chrysler models will expand that number to eight.

The changes will begin just under a year from now, with dealer contracts in Europe set to expire on May 31 2011. New contracts will be offered to dealers being retained, and Fiat hopes that the changes will help boost total sales to nearly double their current level.