New car registrations in the EU+EFTA region dropped 16.1 percent year-on-year while in just the EU they decreased to 1,027,036 units in October, marking a 16.6 percent contraction compared to October 2009. Ten months into the year, demand for new cars in the EU has decreased by 5.5 percent, totaling 11,279,542 new vehicles registered.

In October, all major markets faced a double-digit downturn, ranging from -18.5 percent in France, to -20.0 percent in Germany, -22.2 percent in the UK, -28.8 percent in Italy and -37.6 percent in Spain, which recorded the steepest decrease across the EU. In comparison, October 2009 saw an 12.1 percent upturn in EU registrations compared to 2008, when figures were down 14.9 percent compared to October 2007. From January to October, the UK (+4.8 percent) and Spain (+9.4 percent) saw their markets expand, while France (-1.4 percent), Italy (-7.0 percent) and Germany (-26.8 percent) performed less well than over the same period last year. The largest drop was noted in Bulgaria (-35.6 percent) and the biggest increase in Ireland (+53.2 percent).

October was another bleak month for the Fiat Group, sales plummeted by more than thirty five thousand units year-on-year (EU+EFTA): from 109,689 units in October 2009 to 73,774 units last month which added up to a year-on-year fall of 32.7 percent and thus that meant a contraction in its market share from 8.7 to 6.9 year-on-year for the month just gone. It left Fiat Group as the worst performing major car making group in Europe during October, Ford (-29.3 percent) was the next biggest faller, although its data is distorted by the deduction of Volvo which accounted for twenty thousand units sales last month, and then came the other big loser this year, Toyota (-27.8 percent).

Splitting up the Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA) brands, the Fiat brand was the group's big volume loser, shedding thirty thousand units as customers shunned its products. The ending of the pan-European scrappage schemes and in particular sharp falls on its home market as well as a general return to favour of bigger cars, a poor product mix, a luke-warm reception for the mid-life facelifted version of its best-selling model, the B-segment Punto, and a lack of preparation for the arrival of Euro 5 legislation, have all been factors that have contributed to Fiat's problems in the showrooms. The Fiat brand shifted 56,331 cars last month in Europe, down from 88,503 units during the same period last year, a year-on-year fall of 36.4 percent which thus saw its market share for the month of October declining from 7.0 to 5.3 percent. Lancia was FGA's biggest year-on-year loser last month, its 6,334 units sold left it down 43.2 percent year-on-year and shrunk its market share from 0.9 to 0.6 percent for the month year-on-year. Alfa Romeo, driven by demand for the new Giulietta, however was able to post a strong performance: 10,778 units last month compared to 9,570 during the same period a year ago added up to a year-on-year rise of 12.6 percent and helped its share of all European sales to jump from 0.8 to 1.0 percent. The Fiat Group's two luxury/performance brands, Ferrari and Maserati, sold a combined 331 cars last month in Europe and that added up to a fall of 30.0 percent year-on-year.