Fiat is expecting to post another strong month's sales in March, said Fiat brand CEO Luca De Meo, who also reported that the Sedici has taken 7,000 orders within 10 days of going on sale.

The 'compact' category Fiat Grande Punto has really set the European new car markets alight this so far year, as it has been the best-selling car throughout January and February, outshining B-segment rivals including the new Renault Clio and Ford's Fiesta range. This has been driven on in part by big demand in Fiat's domestic market, and now CEO Luca De Meo predicts total Italian registrations will be above 250,000 units in March, once data is collated, well up from the 228,104 that was achieved in March 2005. "In March, the Italian market ought to follow February's trend and obtain a result above 250,000 units,' commented De Meo, "Fiat will be seeing a positive trend and is likely to confirms its own position. Our aim is to reach an average share of 30 pct,' he said.
 

The Grande Punto has gone from strength to strength ever since it arrived on the Italian market late last September, swiftly followed by a pan-European roll-out. Just over 38,000 were sold in January (including the outgoing Punto model) while more than 34,000 were registered across Europe in February. While Italian sales account for almost half of all these registrations the Grande Punto is now making rapid inroads into the major European markets: Germany, France and the UK.

Meanwhile, Luca De Meo also revealed yesterday that the new Sedici 4x4 has gained more than 7,000 orders after just 10 days on sale in Italy. Fiat had only targeted 10,000-11,000 sales of this new SUV for the year, with an eventual target of 20,000 per year. The Sedici is a car which Fiat hopes brings the benefits associated with four wheel drive traction to a whole new category: that of the cost-effective passenger cars.

Another Fiat model that is gradually gaining strength in the European marketplace is the Croma station wagon. Launched last spring with a conservative sales target of around 20,000 per year (the car's breakeven point), this year that target is expected to be raised to around 50,000 units with March sales likely to up by 30-40 pct over February's total. Another factor pleasing Fiat with the Croma model is that the majority of sales are high specification end of the range models.