The Fiat Strada pick-up (top, in Trekking 1.4 format) continues to be Brazil's best-selling light commercial vehicle, while the Uno (bottom) is the market's most popular entry-level model.

Fiat has recorded strong September sales in Brazil and it means that continues to lead the market as this key Latin American country sees more recent positive growth continuing to make up for the losses it saw during the depths of the global recession earlier this year. With 69,935 new automobiles and light commercial vehicles being registered by Fiat Automóveis in Brazil last month this equated to a 16.6 percent year-on-year-rise, as well as being 20 percent up on the previous month this year, August.

For the year-to-date Fiat Automóveis has now racked up 542,722 sales in Brazil which keeps the Italian carmaker in firm command of the country’s new car and LCV sales, allowing it to account for almost a quarter of all vehicles sold (24.5 percent) in what is Latin America’s biggest new vehicle market. Fiat Automóveis' sales growth during the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2008 is up by 4.2 percent which sets another new record for Fiat Automóveis.

Two low-cost hatchback models continue to set the standard for Fiat in Brazil, with the long-running “Project World Car” B-segment Palio being the Italian brand’s best seller, with 151,923 units of the recently refreshed model sold so far this year. The Uno, long forgotten by consumers in Europe and having virtually vanished from its roads without trance, continues to impress in Brazil where it has found new life built alongside the Palio at the Fiat’s giant Betim factory, and it remains the market’s entry-level car of choice. Known in Brazil as the “Mille” and given a light makeover by Giorgetto Giugiaro a few years ago, the Uno now has clocked up 127,257 sales so far this year and its range has been boosted by the recent introduction of new versions boasting a much higher level of standardised equipment.

Fiat Automóveis continues to crush all life out of pretenders for its top spot in the light commercial vehicle segment thanks to the Palio’s platform sister, the robust Strada pick-up. Last month a new version of the Strada, called the “Working”, was introduced and this, along with the new “Cabin Dupla” (double cab) option which arrived in the summer, has helped Fiat cement its leadership of the segment: after the first nine months of the year 64,915 examples of the compact Strada have been sold in Brazil and it is the absolute leader of the LCV segment as well as having amassed an impressive 55.6 percent of all sales in its category in Brazil.