Italian new car sales plunged by more than a quarter during August and there wasn't much good news for Fiat either, although it was able to soften the blow slightly and raise its market share from 31.71 pct to 33.19 pct.

The Italian new car sales market plunged by more than a quarter during the quiet August month compared to the same month a year ago, and there was not a lot of good news for Fiat either, although the domestic carmaker was able to soften the blow slightly and raise its market share from 31.71 pct last August to 33.19 pct. The new registration data is revealed by Italian automotive trade body UNRAE.

August is traditionally a very quiet month in the Italian dealerships but the market suffered just as much as recent months, with 77,156 vehicles registered in August compared to 104,857 in the same period a year ago, a steep decline of 26.42 pct. Fiat Group fared little better: with 25,605 vehicles registered last month, as opposed to 33,248 in August 2007, it did ride out some of the overall drop, to wind up the month down 22.99 pct.

All the Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA) brands' suffered: Fiat (including the Fiat Professional and Abarth divsions) saw 19,705 new registrations in August, down 22.01 pct; Lancia, with 3,553 units, lost 26.38 pct; and Alfa Romeo shed 25.47 pct after selling 2,309 of its sporty model range. However each brand either raised its market share or remained static, compared to the overall market which dropped: Fiat was up from 24.1 to 25.52 pct year-on-year, Lancia stayed steady on 4.60 pct, and Alfa Romeo was up slightly from 2.95 to 2.99 pct.

For the first eight months of the year, Fiat group has seen 491,860 vehicles registrations in Italy, down by 10.35 pct on the same period last year when it shifted 548,617 units; however its market share is up slightly from 31.51 to 32.11 pct. Of the FGA brands, Fiat has amassed 388,037 unit registrations for the year-to-date (-7.37 pct), Lancia, which is on 66,437 units, has lost 12.08 pct, and Alfa Romeo, with 36,241 units so far this year, sheds 31.93 pct. For the year-to-date Fiat's market share has climbed from 24.06 to 25.34 pct, Lancia remains unchanged on 4.34 pct, while Alfa Romeo is down from 3.06 to 2.37 pct, the bulk of this loss coming from the temporary closure of its main production factory near Naples for refurbishment at the beginning of the year.

During August the Fiat Panda knocked the Fiat Punto off its perch as the best-selling car in Italy for the second time this year, with 5,650 units it pipped the Punto (5,325) by just 325 units for the top spot, while third place once again went to the Car of the Year 2008 award-winning Fiat 500 (3,720). Making it a dominant five FGA models in the top-nine during August were the Lancia Ypsilon (2,084) in fifth, and the Fiat Bravo (1,403) in ninth. For the year-to-date the Punto (117,827) is Italy's best-selling car, well ahead of the Panda (99,437) while the 500 (64,721) rounds out a top-three lock-out. Also amongst the top-ten sellers for the first eight months of the year are the Ypsilon (41,004) in fifth, and the Bravo (34,267) in ninth. The Punto was Italy's highest selling diesel model last month, with 2,316 units specified this way, and it leads the oil-burning stakes for the year so far with 51,999 units.

In the categories the Panda came out on top in A-segment, and it is the clear leader for year-to-date ahead of the 500; in B-segment the Punto held sway last month, with the Ypsilon third and the Musa (780) tenth; while in C-segment the Bravo was deposed from the top spot by the VW Golf, by just 61 units. For the year-to-date however the Bravo (34,255) is just over a thousand units ahead of the Golf (33,163). In D-segment the Alfa 159 (660) was third, with the Fiat Croma (560) in sixth; after eight months of the year the BMW 3-series (17,320) has a fractional edge in the category, ahead of the Croma (17,301) and the Alfa 159 (17,269).

By class, the Croma was the third best-selling station wagon in Italy last month, two places ahead of the Alfa 159 Sportwagon; while in the category for small SUVs, the Fiat Sedici (512) came out on top. For the year-to-date the Sedici (9,247) leads the class ahead of Toyota's RAV4 (8,648). The Fiat Multipla (684) continues its recent resurgent run in the class reserved for compact MPVs: it tied for the top spot in August, along with Opel's Meriva; while amongst the small MPVs the Musa (780) was just pipped to the top spot by the Opel Agila (800). The Lancia Phedra (181) had an impressive month in the class for large MPVs, it was a close second, just 9 units shy of the Ford S-MAX.

Amongst coupé sales in Italy, Alfa Romeo had a solid showing: the MiTo (234) jumped to the top of the class ahead of the BMW 3-series (208), with the Alfa GT (100) in a very credible fourth place. Making it three Alfa Romeos in the top ten was the eighth-placed Brera (55). For the year-to-date the Alfa GT (1,448) is the fourth bests selling coupé in italy, while the Brera (891) is ninth, one place ahead of the MiTo (546) which cracks the top-ten. In 'Multispace' the Doblò (236) fended off its perennial rival, the Renault Kangoo (216), and with 4,104 units sales after the first eight months of the Doblò is the clear category leader.