Lancia's underrated luxury executive flagship saloon, the Thesis, is about to get a much deserved boost when it enters production in China later this year.

Nanjing Fiat is keen to jump into the luxury end of the market, which is expected to see sales more than double this year, and regards the Thesis as the perfect car with which to enter this segment of the market.

A joint venture between Fiat and the Yuejin Motor Group, Nanjing Fiat has total assets amounting to 2.5 billion RMB, with each firm holding 50% of the share capital. It is located in the Industrial New Technology Park of Jiangning District, Nanjing, with a surface area of 640,000 square metres and a covered area of 270,000 square metres. For several years now they have been building the Palio and Siena 'World Cars', which after some initial production hiccups are selling extremely well. Now they are anxious to introduce a much wider range of models over the next few years.

The Lancia Thesis: a perfect fit for China

The Lancia brand has a very strong reputation throughout Asia, and its core values of both luxury and style, are firmly embedded in the minds of a region that is experiencing explosion in car private car ownership. With a population that is now demanding individuality and character, the Lancia name fits the bill perfectly. With Sergio Marchionne only last week announcing that a new Delta model was in the planning stage, Nanjing Fiat are monitoring the whole situation very closely.

The Lancia Thesis is a true masterpiece which is sadly underrated in Europe. Its exterior first revealed at the Geneva Salon in 2001, with its interior being presented later that year at the Frankfurt IAA. Full production commenced in early 2002.

Although it has struggled to make an impact in the market, this is mainly put down mainly to a poor marketing strategy on the part of Fiat, as the car is undoubtedly superb. Journalists and owners alike, generally enthuse about the Thesis, both its excellent, driver-orientated chassis, and its luxurious interior, which is as well equipped as any of its rivals. It exudes a real sense of class, with its gorgeous styling, and a panache, that its somewhat dull, German class-leading rivals completely fail to match.

Chinese luxury car market expected to more than double this year as the 'heavyweights' arrive

In short the Thesis is a car ripe for a market that is looking for these values. Already the German prestige brands are fighting it out for market share in this segment in China. The market at present has three locally-produced luxury brands, BMW, Audi and Nissan. As the "battle of the bland" hots up, BMW have cut between 12 and 13 percent off the price of their 3- and 5-series models. Last year Audi, who have had a head start in this market, sold more that 50,000 locally-built cars, while BMW, with their cars being built by China Brilliance Auto, shifted just under 10,000.

The local prestige car market suffered badly last year due to a raft of government restrictions, as well as jacked-up import tariffs. However although only 70,000 luxury cars were sold, it is estimated that this year sales will more than double to around 150,000 units. New market entrants will include the world's biggest carmaker GM, which will build the Cadillac CTS locally alongside the executive Buick Royaum which it introduced last month, Toyota, who are planning to assemble the Crown model, while Mercedes-Benz expect to raise C- and E-Class output to more than 25,000 units this year.

Rumour suggests that Lancia and China Brilliance could tie-up

With rumours recently circulating that Fiat may yet put Lancia up for sale as they seek to raise further cash, the name of China Brilliance Auto, a young carmaker that is actively seeking overseas purchases to fit into its growth strategy.

Brilliance, who already build a Giugiaro-designed and Porsche-engineered limousine which offers styling shades of the Lancia Musa, have in recent months been discussing the purchase of UK-based MG Rover, although any deal is believed to still be very far from done.

Lancia's image as an upmarket, prestige brand, coupled with a century's worth of glorious history, would make it an ideal fit for Brilliance Auto, who this year aim to raise their global profile with an FIA World Touring Car Championship programme. Any deal would be expected to work along the lines of Brilliance concentrating on building cars for the China and the Asia region.

Lancia would then be re-established across Europe, while a secondary assembly division would see Chinese-built Lancias sold in Australia, as well as the more discerning Asian markets, Japan and Thailand. Into the strategy would come Giorgetto Giugaro, who already on close terms with Brilliance Auto, would undoubtedly relish the opportunity to take on a key role in relaunching Lancia.

For Fiat meanwhile, this deal would, through the future requirements of the Lancia brand, offer the strategic joint venture with another car manufacturer they need so much, and a golden opportunity to share both architecture and componentry, as well as combined purchasing.
 

However making a deal like this fit with their existing GM and Powertrain commitments could work out virtually impossible to carry off, and certainly not in the short term until their partnership with GM is fully resolved.

Lancia Thesis: a luxury masterpiece

The Lancia Thesis has everything that a luxury saloon requires, and its arrival in China is expected to be eagerly awaited. A large (4888mm long) four door luxury saloon, it aims to emphasise Lancia's position as the luxury arm of the Fiat Group, a role it carries off perfectly.

As such it features a substantial 'high-tech' content. This is based around the CONNECT system and a 7 inch TFT colour display in the dashboard and includes voice recognition, hands-free phone, a navigation system, a stereo, an optional TV and access to the contact centre.

Other 'high-tech' systems include an optional radar cruise control, an optional sunroof with solar cells (which power the aircon fan when the vehicle is parked in the sun), a multizone climate control system which on some models has a separate zone for the rear passengers, front and rear parking sensor, a rain sensor, an automatic windscreen wiper system, automatic headlamps, LED tail-lights (with 30 LEDs per unit), optional variable power steering, bi-xenon headlights (with an automatic ride corrector which functions with both static and dynamic pitch changes) and much more. 

To emphasise the comfort factor there is also power assistance when opening the doors, the seat and steering wheel move back and up to aid entrance when the door is opened, and the entire process of opening and starting the car is keyless, using a transponder in the drivers pocket. Some interior details can be seen here. An automatic handbrake (EPB or Electronic Parking Brake) is applied whenever the car is stopped and also features a button on the centre console for manual operation. 

As with all modern cars, passive safety is an area emphasised in the press release, the Thesis featuring eight airbags, comprising two multistage front bags, four sidebags and two window-bags, seatbelts with pre-tensioners, adjustable headrests, ISOFIX attachment points, a fire protection system and a carefully designed structure including crumple zones and reinforced doors.

Active safety includes an ESP (Electronic Stability program) which monitors various parameters to determine the yaw and corrects any excessive motion by braking individual wheels or reducing engine power. Traction control (ASR) reacts to both wheels spinning or just one wheel spinning (in the latter case the result is similar to a limited-slip differential), ABS and EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution) which controls the amount of braking to the rear wheels all reduce the possibility of the driver losing control of the car. 

The suspension utilises multilink layouts both front and rear. The front suspension is a development of the traditional double-wishbone layout, using five links to control the movement of the wheel, whilst at the rear various arms in aluminium, steel and cast iron also provides a small level of passive rear wheel steering.

The damping features a semi-active system known as 'Skyhook' which significantly improves the ride quality. Developed by Mannesmann-Sachs it uses numerous sensors to monitor the relative motion between the wheels and the body then controlling the level of damping provided by each individual damper. 

The design follows closely that of the Dialogos concept car. The official press release describes it as "hallmarked - in terms of styling - by exciting elegance going far beyond rational utility to leave space for the imagination, the Lancia Thesis matches retro sensations - such as the high front, the long bonnet and the profile resembling an upside-down wedge - with an entirely new stylistic language."

Powerplants start with two versions of the well know 20 valve 5 cylinder in-line unit, a 2.0-litre turbocharged example (185bhp), and a 2.4-litre aspirated model (170bhp). The latter also features variable valve timing and a variable length induction system. A V6 derived from the Alfa Romeo 3-litre unit tops the range (215bhp), whilst a 2.4JTD (the 5-cylinder in-line family again, 150bhp) complete with variable geometry turbocharger and intercooler provides the oil-burning option. The five cylinder engines use a six-speed manual gearbox, whilst the V6 gets a five speed automatic unit (with a sequential shift mode).