Italy's new car registrations made an expected strong rise last month following the conclusion of a strike which hit the carmaker's ability to make deliveries, and Lancia were one of the big winners, with sales up by almost 45 percent.

May had seen a car transporter drivers strike take place, which had lasted almost the entire month. It was an action that had resulted in the market falling by almost 28 percent (with 149,229 new cars registered) as Fiat, along with the other manufacturers, were unable to get the cars to the customers, and backlogs built up at the factories. However with the strike resolved, an order book had built up, and last month the resulting bounce saw Italian new car registrations rising up 17.98 pct year-on-year, equating to 233,901 cars (as opposed to 198,261 in June 2004).

Fiat Auto, taken as a whole, kept sales steady, the three brands together with the LCV division, taking a 26.32 pct share of their home market, virtually unchanged from 26.51 pct in June 2004. Fiat branded vehicles sales rose 16.85 pct year-on-year as 44,621 new cars and light commercials were registered. This gave them a 19.08 pc share (as opposed to 19.26 pct in June 2004 when 38,185 units were registered). While sales of the Punto continue to dip ahead of the arrival on the market of the new next-generation model later this year, the new Croma stationwagon contributed to the sales totals for the first time, and light commercials again performed strongly

Alfa Romeo continues to suffer from a  now-ageing model line-up. Registrations though were down by a very acceptable 13.48 pct to give Fiat's 'sporty' brand a 2.47 pct market share, with 5,771 cars were sold. This was in decent contrast to June 2004, when 6,670 cars were registered, equating to a 3.36 pct share of their home market.
 

Lancia once again proved the big winner, Fiat 'luxury' brand continuing steadily on its upward path back to full health. Registrations rose by a stunning 44.60 pct as 11,160 mainly Ypsilon and Musa models hit the Italian roads. (June 2004 had seen Lancia register 7,718 cars to give them a 3.89 pct market share).

While Lancia's Lybra sedan, along with the stationwagon variant, have just ceased production after half a decade, the Italians are quickly taking to the refined charms of the B-segment Musa 'MPV', while the up market, stylish Ypsilon hatchback continues to prove to be a sales hit. A further unquestionable sales boost for Lancia will come when the Zagato-styled Ypsilon Sport - which boasts looks that put BMW's MINI firmly in the shade - is given the green light for production.

In another strong sign that the famous brand is firmly back in favour with Fiat's top management team, Lancia are considering presenting a full scale mock-up of the new Delta model at next March's Geneva Salon, although the actual car, which will be based around the next Fiat Stilo, is still almost two years away from production.