European new car registrations saw another big fall during December although Fiat Group was able to outperform the market, it was down 14.5 pct compared to the market's 17.8 pct drop, while for the full year the Italian carmaker has sold 1,179,989 vehicles, 5.5 pct down year-on-year.

New car demand dropped by 8.4pct in Western-Europe last year, with the downturn most prominent in the last quarter (-19.3 pct compared to the fourth quarter of 2007). New car registrations in the new EU Member States slipped by 0.7 pct in 2008, similarly affected by a worsening performance towards the end of the year. In December, European registrations declined by 17.8 pct, or the second worst performance in 2008 following the 25.8 pct decrease in November. The December downturn was cushioned somewhat by the on average two more working days across the region, whereas November had two working days less.

In Western Europe, demand contracted by 8.4 pct. Only four countries posted growth: Finland (+11.2 pct), Portugal (+5.7 pct), Belgium (+2.1 pct) and Switzerland (+1.0 pct). While fiscal measures helped sustain growth in Finland and Portugal, the Belgian and Swiss sales levels seem to have better resisted the financial and economic crises prevailing throughout Europe. Iceland (-43.3 pct) and Ireland (-18.7 pct) were among the countries recording the most remarkable downturn last year. Looking at the major markets, Spain recorded in 2008 the steepest fall (-28.1 pct) in the history of its market. Italy also posted a two-digit decrease (-13.4 pct), with no month recording a plus. The market in the UK also contracted by more than 10 pct (-11.3 pct) while registrations decreased to a lesser extent in Germany (-1.8 pct) and France (-0.7). The general decline in December contributed markedly to the overall 2008 result. The market dropped by 61.9 pct in Ireland, 49.9 pct in Spain, 21.2 pct in the UK, 15.8 pct in France, 13.3 pct in Italy and 6.6 pct in Germany. The overall downturn in Western Europe was 18.5 pct in December.

In the new EU member States, 2008 numbers levelled the results of 2007 (-0.7 pct). In absolute numbers, Poland remained the major market, consolidating its position with a 9.4 pct increase. The Czech Republic (+8.4 pct) also recorded a plus, but Romania (-8.7 pct) and Hungary (-9.2 pct) contracted. December new registrations in the region mirrored the overall decline in demand following the economic crisis. The 10.7 pct decrease is the sharpest drop recorded since ACEA started reporting figures for the new EU Member States in 2004.

During December the Fiat Group saw 70,943 registrations across Europe which was down 14.5 pct the 82,932 units it sold during the final month of 2007. However with the total market down by 17.8 pct, Fiat Group was able to raise its market share from 7.4 to 7.7 pct year-on-year. The Fiat brand (including Fiat Professional and Abarth) accounted for 56,277 registrations last month which put it down 25.2 pct. Lancia was one of just three brands sold in Europe to increase its December sales year-on-year (the others were Audi and Smart) and its 7,208 units placed to up a pleasing 6.4 pct. Alfa Romeo, with a new CEO in the shape of Sergio Cravero just in place, put a very dismal year behind it, its 7,110 sales in December was down 24.2 pct on the corresponding month a year ago. In December the Fiat brand increased its share of the European market by 0.2 pct to 6.1 pct, Lancia jumped 0.2 pct to 0.8 pct, while Alfa Romeo remained unchanged on 0.8 pct.

For the whole of 2008 the Fiat Group saw 1,179,989 registrations of its vehicles, putting it down 5.5 pct on 2007's total but raising its market share from 7.8 to 8.0 pct. The Fiat brand accounted for 957,267 units of that total last year, down 2.0 pct; Lancia with 113,978 registrations was down by 6.6 pct, while Alfa Romeo's 102,223 units saw it finish the year having shed 29.1 pct. This meant that the Fiat brand raised its share of European car sales from 6.1 pct in 2007 to 6.5 pct in 2008, Lancia remained unchanged on 0.8 pct, while Alfa Romeo contracted from 0.9 to 0.7 pct.