In total 119,188 new cars were sold in the UK last month according to automotive industry body SMMT, that was a little under five thousand units and 3.74 percent down on December 2010.

Once a respectably performing brand in the UK, Fiat has been reduced to niche status on this market and it ended 2011 with 2,203 sales for the final month and down 22.40 percent on December 2010 when it sold 2,829 cars. That meant Fiat's market share for December dropped from 2.29 percent (2010) to only 1.85 percent (2011).

That total of 2,203 cars sold in the UK last month left Fiat trailing other niche brands such as Honda, Kia, Land Rover, SEAT and Skoda and with half the sales of the likes of Mini, Peugeot, Renault, Mercedes and Citroen, while Hyundai, Audi and Toyota were amongst other brands that sold two and a half times the volume of the troubled Italian brand.

Alfa Romeo suffered a poor final month to a year that had started well, 608 cars in December when compared to 1,077 during the same month in 2010 added up to a fall of 43.55 percent and meant its market share for the closing month of the year dropped from 0.87 percent (2010) to 0.51 percent (2011). That put Alfa Romeo at the bottom of the pile for the month in year-on-year terms and only basket case brands Saab, Lotus and Proton fared any worse.

Abarth sold 78 of its high performance Fiat models in the UK last month, down nine units and 10.34 percent on the same period last year. Maserati sold 18 cars last month, that was down eight units and 30.77 percent on December 2010. The two remaining Chrysler Group brands were positive for December however, although both still remain only nominally in the market. Chrysler was up 19.78 percent to 109 units while Jeep's tally of 213 registrations was 14.52 percent better than in December 2010.

For the whole of 2011 a total of 1,941,253 cars were sold in the UK, down by 4.41 percent year-on-year. The Fiat brand sold 41,612 cars during 2011, and when compared to 53,092 that equates to a decline of 21.62 percent. Fiat's UK market share for 2011 shrank to 2.14 percent from 2.61 percent in 2010. That performance left Fiat amongst the worst performers year-on-year although better than Renault, Smart, Saab, Subaru and Mazda.

Alfa Romeo however enjoyed a prosperous 2011 in the UK despite its sales taking a downturn late in the year and it comfortably broke through the five figure sales barrier. Alfa Romeo's final tally of 11,563 units when compared to 8,834 the previous year was up 30.89 percent year-on-year and was its best performance in the UK since 2002. Alfa Romeo also sold over a thousand more cars in the UK last year than in Europe's biggest market, Germany.

"To record such an impressive market share increase in a shrinking auto market is testament to the Alfa Romeo brand that is now available in the UK," said Damien Dally, Head of brand for Alfa Romeo UK. "We have two leading products on offer, and have been able to win back customers who may have shied away from the brand in the past. However it’s not only the product that needs to be right. That’s why we’ve worked tirelessly to improve our dealer network – which now has a top 10 J.D. Power placing. In addition, both Giulietta and MiTo are available on competitive low finance rates, along with a free inclusive Alfa care package which includes three years complimentary servicing. With the Alfa 4C due next year, Alfa Romeo’s future looks bright."

Abarth sold 1,291 cars for the whole of 2011 in the UK, that was down 134 units and 9.40 percent on 2010. The Scorpion's 2011 market thus share remained unchanged at 0.07 percent. Maserati sold 388 cars in the UK last year, down 68 units and 14.91 percent on the year before.

The Chrysler Group brands had a mixed 2011. Jeep was the better performer of the two, up 68 units and 3.27 percent compared to 2010, to take a 0.11 percent share of the market UK market for the last year. The Chrysler brand meanwhile sold 1,182 units in 2011 which was 220 units and 15.09 percent down on the year before.