As Fiat Auto once again struggled across Europe last month, Lancia continued it relentless upward path, with sales 5.8 pct up on last year.

This year is proving a difficult one for car sales in general, with most of the big European carmakers struggling to get anywhere near last year's performance. For Fiat Auto, which is awaiting the arrival of several significant new models including the vitally-important next-generation Punto 'supermini', this spring and summer is all about getting prepared and keeping the sales operation steady.

EUROPEAN SALES: LANCIA UP ONCE MORE

Lancia last month proved to be Fiat's star performer with new registrations up 5.8 pct year-on-year, measured across the fifteen European Union member nations and the additional EFTA countries. 10,502 new Lancias were sold (as opposed to 9,928 in April 2004), a rise of 5.8 pct, which kept their market share unchanged at 0.8 pct.

With the stylish new Fiat Idea-based, Lancia Musa now rolling out swiftly across Europe, to join the hugely popular award-winning Ypsilon, and an Eastern European dealer expansion programme firmly underway, the corner seems to have been turned for Fiat's 'luxury' brand. All this good sales news comes despite Lancia having a lack of exposure to the massive, brand conscious, United Kingdom market. With the exciting new 1.9 M-Jet powered Ypsilon Sport, which was first seen in concept form at the Geneva Salon earlier this year in the pipeline, and plans now being drawn up for an all-new C-segment contender in the Delta mould, Lancia, boosted by the raw sales numbers, can at last plan for its longer-term future, safely assured that it is playing its part in Fiat's revival strategy.
 

Both the Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands struggled to maintain their market share last month, although with higher margins now being squeezed out of individual sales as Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne targets turning the focus away from less profitable fleet deals, the figures, bearing in mind that Fiat are awaiting a raft of strategic new models, are regarded as respectable.

Fiat itself registered 60,571 cars in April (down from 72,614 in April 2004) to give them at 4.7 pct market share (down from 5.7 pct in April 2004). Meanwhile Alfa Romeo, with 11,194 new registrations (14,353 in April 2004), lost 22 pct to give them a 0.9 pct market share (1.1 pct in April 2004). With the new Fiat Croma due on sale during the summer, and the arrival of the Fiat Punto, Alfa 159 and Alfa Brera later this year, keeping sales 'ticking over' has been the order of the day.

Overall, combining the three brands, including LCVs, which make up the Fiat Auto Division, 82,768 vehicles registered (97,417 in April 2004) to give the Italian carmaker a 6.4 pct (7.6 pct in April 2004) share of all European sales. Other fallers last month included VW down 2.0 pct, Saab (-5.3 pct), Ford (-7.4 pct), Jaguar (-26.2 pct), Mercedes (-1.9 pct) and of course MG-Rover, which disappeared off the scale as it collapsed in bankruptcy.