Lancia Ypsilon, the first car in the FCA group to feature Mild Hybrid technology

For several years now, Lancia has chosen to withdraw from the Spanish market and focus on other markets where the brand is considerably more popular and sales are quite attractive. Italy is the brand’s natural market, and it is the setting where you can find the Lancia Ypsilon, a small city car we saw in Spain, which is set to become the first model in the FCA group to use Mild Hybrid technology, that is, 48-volt hybrid technology.

The group is committed to electrification, but it is only now that it has decided to use the mild hybrid system on this city car, which is a genuine sales success in Italy. That popularity is what has allowed it to position itself as the first model from the brand to receive this hybrid system.

The Lancia Ypsilon currently offers a version powered by LPG, with a 1.2-litre engine producing 69 CV. This version does not seem to have fully convinced buyers, and the new Lancia Ypsilon with Mild Hybrid will arrive to replace it.

To achieve this change, the 1.2-litre LPG engine will be swapped for a 1.0 Firefly petrol engine that delivers similar power, of 70 CV and a maximum torque of 90 Nm. The change will be accompanied by the 48-volt electric motor, which supplies electricity to the car’s electrical systems, resulting in a small saving in fuel and polluting emissions.

Once this Lancia Ypsilon Mild Hybrid model is launched, the same powertrain will move on to other similar models in the FCA group, such as the Fiat 500 and the Fiat Panda, which already have an electric version in preparation. In this way, even though the Lancia Ypsilon will not reach our country, this same system will be available across several models in the FCA group.