Fiat and Alfa Romeo both comfortably outperformed the UK new passenger car market during June, which fell 15.7 percent, with the two brands both making positive year-on-year gains, up 2.04 and 30.95 percent respectively, as they took advantage of the first effects of the UK's new scrappage scheme.

The new car market in the UK however posted its smallest decline since July 2008 in June. The scrappage scheme will have a positive impact on volumes, although the impact is likely to be lagged. SMMT had expected the market to decline to 153,000 units (as forecast in April), with the actual being 15 percent higher at 176,264 units. The overall UK market remains down 25.9 percent or 322,524 units over the first half of the year.

Meanwhile registrations to private buyers rose for the first time since November 2007 in June, up 3.9 percent, while Fiat was also boosted as demand for small cars also picked up, with the mini segment showing growth of 145.4 percent in the month, while superminis took a record 37.2 percent share of the market. Ford’s Fiesta was the best selling model for a fifth time this year. This growth in small car demand contributed to the fall in diesel penetration, with small cars tending to be petrol powered. However, diesel market share is still up over the year-to-date. Also of note, the average new car CO2 emissions in the UK fell to 152.3g/km in the first half of 2009, this was 3.6 percent below the 158.0g/km recorded in full year 2008 and 19.8 percent below the 1997 level.

Fiat sold 5,143 cars in the UK during June which put it up 2.04 percent year-on-year compared to the 5,040 units it shifted in June 2008. This meant that Fiat raised its market share to 2.41 percent in June from 2.92 percent  during the same month a year ago. After the first six months of the year Fiat has sold 22,340 cars in the UK which is down 28.05 percent year-on-year (31,048 in Jan-Jun 2008). It means that year-on-year Fiat's UK market share for the first six months is down very slightly from 2.49 to 2.42 percent.

With 935 cars sold during June compared to 714 during the same month a year ago, Alfa Romeo was one of the best year-on-year performers in the UK, up by 30.95 percent. In the process Alfa Romeo raised its June overall market share in the UK from 0.34 to 0.53 year-on-year. After the first half of the year Alfa Romeo accounts for 3,914 units compared to 3,458 during the same period last year which equates to a 13.33 increase year-on-year and a rise in its share of the total market from 0.28 to 0.42 percent. Meanwhile Fiat Group Automobiles' niche sports brand Abarth added 93 more cars in the UK during June to its sales tally for the year which brings it to a total of 612 units for the first six months. There is no year-on-year data for Abarth.