Fiat put a miserable year
on the Italian market behind it last month to record
sales up 4.50 percent year-on-year and to actually
outperform the overall market, which was also in
positive territory, up 3.58 percent for the period. In
total 170,603 new cars were sold in Italy during May
according to data released by automotive industry body
UNRAE.
The Fiat Group weighed in with 51,445 registrations last
month up 4.50 percent on the same month a year ago when
it stood on 49,229 units. That means its Italian market
share climbs from 29.89 to 30.15 percent year-on-year.
However last May's dismal sales performance has to be factored
in as the Fiat Group's sales collapsed by a quarter
during that period meaning that few of those losses have
been pulled back.
The Italian carmaker's steadying in fortunes last month
came in particular from the Fiat brand which has
suffered a torrid year of steeply declining sales and
its 36,701 registrations during May was only 313 units
down on the same month last year to leave it almost flat
(-0.85 percent). As the overall market made positive
gains for the month just gone the Fiat brand's market
share thus slipped from 22.47 to 21.51 percent
year-on-year.
Lancia caused a surprise with a May sales spurt: 8,507
registrations was up almost seven hundred units on the
same month last year, a healthy rise of 8.87 percent.
That performance lifted its share of all Italian
registrations for the month of May from 4.74 to 4.99
percent year-on-year. Alfa Romeo continued to be the
best performer in year-on-year terms for Fiat Group
Automobiles (FGA); its 6,134 units was up almost two
thousand units on the same period last year adding up to
a 43.89 percent rise. Alfa Romeo's market share for the
month thus jumped from 2.59 to 3.60 percent
year-on-year. Of the niche Fiat Group brands, Ferrari
sold 58 cars last month in Italy, down 34.83 percent,
while Maserati's 45 units was down 8.16 percent.
After the first five
months of the year the Fiat Group has 246,142
registrations in Italy, more than sixty thousand units
and 20.27 percent down on the same period last year,
which means its market share for the year-to-date drops
from 31.07 to 29.19 percent year-on-year. The Fiat brand
is the big loser so far this year from the FGA stable:
174,397 units compared to 239,860 during the same period
last year leaves it down by more than a quarter (-27.29
percent) and with its market share for the period
dipping from 24.14 to 20.68 percent year-on-year. Lancia
is on 39,544 units for the year-to-date, down 13.61
percent, to take a 4.69 percent share of the market,
while Alfa Romeo's 31,641 units sold after five months
is up 40.75 percent to give it a 3.75 percent share of
all sales for the year so far. Ferrari meanwhile has 360
registrations for the year-to-date in Italy, down 6.91
percent, while sister niche brand Maserati also falls:
210 units sold so far this year is a decline of 13.58
percent.
The Fiat Panda (12,039
units) was the best-selling car across Italy during May,
the A-segment stalwart just a few hundred units ahead of
the Fiat Punto (11,686) while the Fiat 500 (6,859 - of
which 589 units were the 500C version) made it three
Fiat brand vehicles in the top-three. The Lancia Ypsilon
(4,292) in eighth place and Alfa Romeo Giulietta (3,365)
in tenth made it five FGA models in the top-ten. For the
year-to-date the Punto (59,296) leads the Panda (54,865)
while the 500 (30,203) is fourth, the Ypsilon (21,668)
is sixth and the Giulietta (18,764) ninth. For the month
of May the Punto (4,817) was Italy's best-selling diesel
car while the Giulietta (2,610) was fourth. For the
year-to-date the Punto (25,069) is the clear leader
amongst oil-burners, while the Giulietta (14,257) is
third.
In A-segment the Panda
and 500 ruled the roost last month as is the usual case,
the Panda's sales were flat year-on-year while the 500
put on a spurt of more than 1,500 units versus May 2010.
In B-segment the Punto locked out the top spot, its
sales also flat year-on-year, but down twenty five
thousand units for the year-to-date when compared to the
same period last year, while the Ypsilon was the fourth
best seller in the segment last month, its sales rising,
and it is third in B-segment for the year-to-date, flat
on last year. Alfa Romeo's MiTo (2,150) squeezed into
the top ten in tenth place with its sales down just
under six hundred units for the month year-on-year while
for the year-to-date the MiTo stands on 10,197 units,
down by a third on the same five months last year.
In C-segment the
Giulietta was the second best-seller last month but
after a year on the market it cannot make any inroads
into the class leader, VW's Golf, and it ended the month
more than two thousand units adrift of its German rival,
while for the year-to-date it is seven thousand units
behind the Golf. Lancia's Delta (1,766) was eighth in
C-segment for the month, its sales up a few hundred
units year-on-year, while for the year-to-date it stands
on 8,129 units, down one thousand on the same period
last year.
In F-segment Ferrari's
California (28) and 458 Italia (26) were both down
year-on-year while Maserati's GranTurismo (26) was up.
For the year-to-date the 458 Italia (172) is sharply up
and the California (132) sharply down, while the
GranTurismo (130) is up slightly. Amongst the small MPVs,
the Lancia Musa (2,431) had an impressive month,
comfortably outselling its newer rival, GM's Meriva,
while for the year-to-date the Musa (9,662) is just one
thousand units off its challenger. In the crossover
class, where it is being listed by UNRAE, Fiat's
new rebadged Dodge Journey, the Freemont, made its first
entrance into the Italian sales charts with 486 units
being registered during May. In Multispace Fiat's Qubo
(1,261) and Doblò (665) were clear at the top, and it is
the same story for the year-to-date: 5,426 and 2,916
sales respectively.
The Chrysler Group, which has now been fully integrated
into the FGA dealer and distribution network starting
from the middle of this week in Italy as well as other
European markets, also turned in a promising month.
While the Chrysler and Dodge brands - with 95 and 1
units sold respectively in Italy during May - are
irrelevant as they are both being phased out of this
market, the Jeep brand collected 709 registrations, and
when compared to 295 units during the same period last
year that was a rise of 140.34 percent. That gave Jeep
an Italian market share of 0.47 percent for the month.
For the year-to-date the Jeep brand is on 2,960
registrations which is up 66.85 percent on the same five
month period last year. Elsewhere Lamborghini had a
better month than it has had recently, albeit 10 cars
sold in May, which, however, was up 66.67 percent
year-on-year and for the year-to-date it is on 35 units
(-39.66 percent). DR Motor, which locally assembles CKD
kit sourced cars from China's Chery Automobile, added
144 units last month, down by a fifth (-21.31 percent)
which puts it on 1,680 units for the year-to-date
(-31.65 percent).
