Fiat was one of the biggest winners in the UK last month as the market saw overall sales surged 57.6 percent year-on-year, with the Italian carmaker up an impressive 134.37 percent after recording 6,014 registrations for the month. The new car market in the UK has now shown growth for each of the past five months and the pace of growth has improved throughout. November’s increase at 57.6 percent equated to a rise of 57,749 units, according to data released by the automotive trade body, SMMT.

Registrations in November 2008 showed the steepest decline of all, in the 15-month run of falling volumes between May 2008 and June 2009. The November 2009 total was however well above expectations and pushed the market back up to November 2007 levels. The state-sponsored ‘scrappage’ scheme accounted for 21.6 percent of all new car registrations in November.

“The increase in new car registrations in November reflects the positive impact of the Scrappage Incentive Scheme, customers avoiding the VAT increase in January and the very difficult conditions we experienced a year ago,” commented Paul Everitt, the SMMT chief executive after the release of the data. “SMMT is urging government to use its Pre-Budget Report to sustain the recovery and generate business confidence by stimulating demand in key parts of the new vehicle market.”

The Fiat brand’s 6,014 units last month gave it a market share of 3.80 percent and compared well to last November when 2,566 units shifted equaled a 2.56 percent share. The Fiat 500, which in October climbed into the UK top-ten best-sellers list for the first time, slipped back out this last month. Ford’s Fiesta was the best selling model in November, as it has been in nine months this year. Fiat was boosted as registrations of smaller cars continue to outperform the overall market.

Alfa Romeo also impressed during November in the UK, its 640 units sold putting it up 154.98 percent year-on-year compared to 251 units during the same period a year ago. Its November market share climbed from 0.25 to 0.40 percent year-on-year. Abarth is also enjoying a very good return to the UK, it accounted for 137 units in November compared to 7 in the same period last year although with its UK relaunch having taken place just months previously year-on-year data cannot be considered valid.

The three Chrysler Group brands all enjoyed year-on-year increases last month, albeit on tiny sales volumes, although only Jeep managed to beat the market’s overall 57.6 percent rise. Chrysler saw 168 units registered in November, up 29.23 percent, Dodge’s 183 units put it up 10.24 percent, while Jeep posted the highest volumes (192 units) and the biggest year-on-year increase (67.21 percent).

Year-on-year volumes in the past five months have risen by 11.2 percent or over 110,000 units. Over the year-to-date, new car registrations are still down 8.8 percent or 179,041 units. The 12-month moving total has risen to 1,953 million units. Further growth is expected in December, which should take the full year market to some 50,000 units above the 1,928 million unit forecast in October. In 2008 the market was 2.13 million units.

For the year-to-date the Fiat brand has seen 54,878 registrations in the UK which puts it up 5 percent year-on-year (52,267 units for the same period last year) and it is one of just a handful of volume manufacturers to be positive for the first eleven months of the year compared to the same period of 2008, the others being Suzuki, Kia, Hyundai and Nissan. Alfa Romeo is also having an excellent year in the UK, its 8,468 units for the year-to-date compared to 5,693 units in the same period last year sees it up 48.74 percent year-on-year. Abarth now has 1,268 units for the year-to-date. It all means that Fiat has taken 2.98 percent of all sales in the UK so far this year; Alfa Romeo meanwhile is on 0.46 percent while Abarth accounts 0.07 percent.

The picture is pretty bleak at the Chrysler Group however, and with 2,499 sales for the year-to-date the Chrysler brand is the biggest loser down by more than a half on last year (-56.6 percent), Dodge, on very similar volumes, is down 34.10 percent, while Jeep accounts for the lowest volumes, 2,158 units, and sheds 43.79 percent year-on-year.