06.06.2012 FIAT LOSES GROUND IN ITALY DURING MAY BUT BEATS THE OVERALL MARKET FALL

FIAT PANDA 2012

The new Fiat Panda was Italy's best selling car last month with 12,810 registrations ahead of the Fiat Punto which added 8,593 units.

Fiat Group continued to lose ground in Italy during May, sales were down 11.33 percent to 46,500 units, although it outperformed the overall market which dropped by 14.26 percent. In total 147,102 new cars were sold in Italy last month according to industry body UNRAE and that was almost twenty five thousand units less than the same month last year.

For Fiat Group its decline added up to a loss of seven thousand units when compared to May 2011, but as it outperformed the overall market its market share rose from 30.57 percent in May 2011 to 31.61 percent last month.

The Italian carmaker's steady performance was driven by the Fiat brand which had a much steadier month than recently: its 33,252 cars sold last month when compared to 36,864 in May 2011 added up to a fall of 9.80 percent which outperformed the market and the Group. That raised its market share for the month of May from 21.49 percent last year to 22.60 percent this year.

All the Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA) brands were in the red ink last month as Lancia's 7,739 sales in May was down just under one thousand units and 10.16 percent on the same month last year. It however also outperformed the overall market and its share was up 0.2 percent to 5.26 percent.

Alfa Romeo lost a fifth of its Italian sales last month as it sold 4,858 cars. When compared to 6,140 in May 2011 that was a fall of 20.88 percent. Its market share dipped by 0.28 percent to 3.30 percent.

Fiat Group's niche brands also suffered in May, Jeep's 621 units registered was a fall of 13.63 percent, that mirrored the overall market so its share remained unchanged on 0.42 percent. The two luxury/performance brands, Ferrari and Maserati, both failed to connect with customers again: the Maranello brand was down 58.62 percent to 24 units while the Modena outfit lost 86.67 percent after selling only 6 cars.

After the first five months of the year a total of 684,962 cars have been sold in Italy, down 18.88 percent year-on-year. Fiat Group meanwhile is on 201,153 units and when compared to 249,857 units during the same period last year that is a fall of 19.49 percent. That pretty much mirrors the overall market's direction and means that its market share is relatively similar: 29.59 percent for the January to May period last year compared to 29.37 for the year-to-date this year.

The Fiat brand has sold 140,119 units for the year-to-date, down 19.75 percent year-on-year, meaning its market share for the period shifts down slightly by 0.22 percent to 20.46 percent. Lancia's 25,872 units is down 10.41 percent on the same five month period last year but outperforms the overall market which sees its market share climbs from 4.74 to 5.24 percent. Alfa Romeo is struggling and 21,648 sales so far this year is ten thousand units and 31.61 percent down on the same period last year.

The niche brands are mixed for the year-to-date, Jeep is up three hundred units and 10.32 percent to 3,313 units, Ferrari is down 54.86 percent to 158 units while Maserati falls 77.62 percent and has managed to shift just 47 cars in Italy so far this year.

The new Fiat Panda was Italy's best selling car last month with 12,810 registrations ahead of the Fiat Punto which added 8,593 units. The Fiat 500 was third after adding 5,993 sales to bounce back after several under pressure months while FGA representation in the top ten for May was completed by the Lancia Ypsilon (4,942) in fifth and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta (3,472) in seventh. Amongst diesel-powered cars the Punto (2,334) and Giulietta (1,989) were the second and third best-sellers for May.

For the year-to-date FGA has a lock-out of the top three positions in its home market with the Panda (54,355) comfortably leading out the Punto (40,588) and Ypsilon (23,250). Meanwhile the 500 (20,625) and Giulietta (15,038) are fifth and ninth respectively. The Punto is also Italy's second best-selling diesel car so far this year with 13,233 being specified by buyers as oil-burners.

Amongst the segments the Panda and 500 held command in A-segment last month. The former kept its position steady thanks to the arrival of the new third-generation model (12,813 units in May 2011) while it is the same story of the year-to-date, the Panda slipping just under seven hundred units down versus the same period last year. The 500 though hasn't fared as well, it lost one and a half thousand units year-on-year last month and is almost ten thousand down for the year-to-date. However, the roll-roof 500C version enjoyed a welcome uptick last month as 1,028 sales of this model was a real bounce on May 2011 when it shifted 579 units. May's performance in fact accounted for well over half its Italian sales for the year-to-date which now stand at 1,749 units. By contrast the 500C had notched up 2,050 sales by this point in time last year.

In B-segment the Punto was the comfortable winner but it lost just over three thousand units year-on-year while for the year-to-date it is nearly twenty thousand units shy of this point last year. There was no place in the B-segment top ten for the Alfa Romeo MiTo, it faded to just 1,248 sales last month compared to 2,151 during May 2011, while for the year-to-date it is on 5,928 units as opposed to 10,198 units during the same period last year.

However while the MiTo tanks, its C-segment sister, the Giulietta, had a rosy May. It topped the segment with 3,473 sales, to beat the usual segment leader, VW's Golf (which added 3,116 registrations) while the Giulietta was also up 102 units on the same month last year. For the year-to-date the Giulietta is on 15,047 units, behind the Golf (17,998) but comfortably clear of the Ford Focus (11,618). In year-on-year terms the Giulietta is down just over three and a half thousand units.

In D-segment the Fiat Freemont rose to the top with 1,652 sales while for the year-to-date it is on 6,795 registrations, second in class to VW's Tiguan (8,056). In E-segment the Jeep Grand Cherokee added 178 sales, for the year-to-date it is on 838 units, but there was no sign again of Lancia's Thema which can't breach the relatively low barrier to make the top ten (in May's case that meant matching the 76 units notched up by Jaguar's XF). In F-segment all the Italian performance/luxury cars went missing in action from the top ten apart from Ferrari's 458 Italia which made it in in ninth place with 14 sales (26 in May 2012) while for the year-to-date it is also the only domestic representative in the top ten, in fifth, with 98 registrations (172 for Jan-May 2011).

Elsewhere Lancia's Musa is having a good last kick at life and its 1,446 units sold last month, although one thousand units down on the same month last year, allowed it to top the category for mini MPVs narrowly ahead of Opel's Meriva. For the year-to-date the Musa is on 6,791 sales, down three thousand units year-on-year but it is top of the class, again ahead of the Meriva (6,465). Amongst the large MPVs, FGA's attempts to pass off Chrysler's Town & Country as a Lancia continue to flounder and it added 124 sales last month while for the year-to-date the Voyager is now on 601 units.

In Multispace the Fiat Qubo (1,117) topped the category ahead of the Fiat Doblò (464). The Qubo was steady versus last May when it sold 1,271 units while the Doblò lost a bit of ground as it shifted 699 units during the same month a year ago. For the year-to-date the Qubo is on 5,210 units sold versus 5,446 during the same period last year while the Doblò is on 1,731 units after the first five months of the year compared to 2,973 for January to May 2011.

 

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