Chrysler and Lancia to Merge for Full Product Line, Global Reach

In comments made Wednesday in Milan, Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said the Chrysler-badged version of the Lancia Delta on display at the Detroit auto show could be offered in the U.S. by the end of the year...

He also opened the possibility of exporting a larger Chrysler from the U.S. that would be rebadged as a Lancia for Europe.

"We could see the two (brands) converge as early as the end of the year," Marchionne said, as reported by the European blog Autocar. "In Europe, Lancia is an undersized, underdeveloped brand ... . Chrysler, which has a true global reach, has nothing smaller. Put them together and you have a full lineup."

The show car, which recasts the Delta with a Chrysler grille and headlamps (above), is in a corner of the Chrysler-Fiat stand at Cobo Hall. He also said that no Lancia-branded vehicles would be sold in the U.S.  More at the Detroit Free Press-

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