08.04.2010 FIAT AND ALFA ROMEO SALES PLUMMET AS GERMAN NEW CAR MARKET CONTRACTS DURING MARCH

FIAT 500C
FIAT PANDA CROSS 4X4

Suffering the effects of the post incentive scheme hangover, the German new car market contracted by more than a quarter last month while the Fiat Automobiles brand (top, 500C, bottom, Panda Cross) had a shocking month, its sales collapsed by almost three-quarters.

Suffering the effects of the post incentive scheme hangover, the German new car market contracted by more than a quarter last month while Fiat had a shocking month, its sales collapsed by almost three-quarters as it turned in the worst year-on-year performance on the market. It was a disappointing month for Fiat Group, Alfa Romeo’s sales more than halved and Lancia lost over 60 percent year-on-year. However last month's decline has to be taken in context, as March Fiat Automobiles saw its sales climb 218 percent to just under 29,000 units as the German 'scrappage' scheme kicked in with its first full month.

The overall German new car market last month saw 294,375 registrations which equated to a fall of 26.6 percent on the same month last year. The Fiat Automobiles brand sold 7,819 cars which added up to a 72.9 percent slump on the same month last year and gave it a market share of 2.7 percent for March. Alfa Romeo, with 525 registrations, saw its sales nosedive by more than a half (-55.2 percent) to take a 0.2 percent share of the market (in comparison last March Alfa Romeo's sales had jumped by 257 percent) while Lancia 172 units added up to a 65.2 percent fall compared to the same period last year. Other big losers on the market last month included Toyota/Lexus, Suzuki, Daihatsu and Kia, all of which saw their sales fall by more than a half. 

With less ground to loose after suffering a collapse in its sales at the start of last year when the U.S. carmaker was pleading with the government to give it billions of dollars in emergency funding to stay afloat, Chrysler Group, now 20 percent owned by Fiat Group, suffered a 36.1 percent sales fall in Germany last month after consumers purchased just 731 vehicles combined across its three brands: Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep.

After the first quarter of the year, the German new car market has seen total sales of 670,410 new cars, a year-on-year fall of 22.8 percent when compared to the same period last year. The Fiat brand has 18,116 sales which is well under half the registrations it managed in Germany during the opening three months of last year (-58.8 percent) and gives it a 2.7 percent stake of the market for the year-to-date. With 1,552 registrations Alfa Romeo is down 35.6 percent for the year-to-date and has taken a 0.2 percent share of the market, while after three months Lancia is on 402 units which adds up to as a fall of 59.6 percent. The bleak start to the year for this market means that Nissan/Infiniti (+58.3 percent), Land Rover (+23.0 percent), Jaguar (+13.6 percent) and BMW/Mini (+1.4 percent) are the only brands to turn in year-on-year gains for the opening three months. Chrysler Group has 1,500 sales for the year-to-date which equates to a fall of 36.9 percent.
 

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