Fiat Group Automobiles saw its Europe-wide new vehicle registrations climb by 5.7 percent year-on-year during May, the Turinese carmaker significantly outperforming the overall market which fell by 1.6 percent; according to data released by manufacturer body ACEA.

A total of 1,442,518 new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were registered in Europe last month across all the EU member nations as well as the three EFTA members, a result that was down by 1.6 pct on last year's figure of 1,465,244 units. Fiat was the best performer amongst the top ten car manufacturing groups in Europe, up 5.7 pct year on year. Europe's biggest car manufacturer, the VW Group, was down 2.5 pct year-on-year, PSA Peugeot-Citroen in second was up 2.8 pct, while third placed Ford lost 1.1 pct. General Motors and Renault in fourth and fifth place both had a terrible month losing 8.9 pct and 8.4 pct respectively. Fiat in sixth place gained 6.7 pct while wrapping up the remainder of the top ten were Toyota (+2.6 pct), DaimlerChrysler (-2.4 pct), BMW (+5.6 pct) and Honda (+12 pct).

Fiat Group Automobiles sold a total 118,950 new vehicles across Europe during May, up 5.7 pct on the 112,536 units it sold during the same period last year, pushing its overall market share up from 7.7 to 8.3 pct. Splitting the brands up, Fiat (including the Fiat Professional commercial arm) with 93,110 registrations last month was up 7.9 pct on May 2006's total of 86,325 units. Lancia was up 3.1 pct year-on-year with 11,641 units sold last month compared to the 11,293 unit it shifted during the equivalent month of last year.
 

Alfa Romeo was the only loser, it dropped 5.0 pct after selling 13,733 cars in May compared to the 14,457 units it managed during the same period of the previous year. The Fiat brand raised its overall European market share from 5.9 to 6.5 pct while Lancia (0.8 pct) and Alfa Romeo (1.0 pct) remained unchanged.

After the first five months of 2007 Fiat is the best performer of the European 'big six' groups, up 6.7 pct year-on-year. It now stands on 576,556 units for the year-to-date (YTD). Last year it had sold 540,563 units by the end of May and this rise raises its total European market share from 7.7 to 8.3 pct. The Fiat brand (including Fiat Professional) is up 7.5 pct year-on-year with 446,360 units YTD compared to 415,217 units during the same period last year; Alfa Romeo is also in positive territory, up 0.9 pct with 67,496 units YTD as opposed to the 66,919 it managed last year; and Lancia is up 7.1 pct: 60,166 units YTD as opposed to the 56,169 it sold between January and May 2006. This means the Fiat brand's total European market share YTD climbs from 5.9 to 6.4 pct, while Lancia is up from 0.8 to 0.9 pct, and Alfa Romeo is unchanged on 1.0 pct.