Registrations in the UK, according to SMMT, fell by 17.97 percent in December to 123,817, with the market a little below the association's expectations. If scrappage volumes are removed completely from the 2009 December sales tally, then the December figure would have been up almost 6,000 units or 4.8 percent on the same month in 2009.

Fiat  Automobiles' sold 2,839 cars in the UK last month, down sharply from 5,459 units during the same month the previous year and that added up to a 47.99 percent year-on-year fall. Consequently Fiat's market share for the month of December slid from 3.62 percent (2009) to 2.29 (2010) percent year-on-year.

Alfa Romeo however saw its sales rocket during December thanks to demand for the new Giulietta hatchback which has driven customers into the brand's showrooms since its late summer UK launch. Alfa Romeo sold 1,077 cars last month in the UK and when compared to 599 units in December 2009, that was an 79.80 percent increase in sales. Consequently Alfa Romeo's share of the UK market for the final month of the year rose from 0.40 percent (2009) to 0.87 (2010) percent year-on-year.

Abarth ended the year on a downwards note, it shifted 87 units in December, compared to 113 units during the final month of 2009, as the Scorpion brand still falls a long way short of achieving viability since its return to the UK. That added up to a year-on-year fall of 23.01 percent, only slightly underperforming the UK market which meant its share remained static on 0.07 percent.

In the UK, 2010 was a tale of two halves, with volumes up 19.9 percent in the first half of the year, but falling 13.8 percent in the second half. In total 2,030,846 cars were registered in the UK last year. The step change was a reflection of the removal of the Scrappage Incentive Scheme in March of 2010. Over 100,000 cars were registered through the scheme in 2010, around 5 percent of the total market. Whilst up 1.8 percent on 2009, the 2010 market was still the second lowest in the past decade and almost 375,000 units short of the 2007 levels. Private registrations fell below one million units for only the second time in the past decade, dropping by 5.6 percent over the full year and by 37.5 percent in December. Fleet volumes were more resilient and grew by 10.3 percent over the full year. Business demand also rose in 2010 after a 42.8 percent rise in December. Fleet volumes are expected to sustain the market in 2011, whilst private demand will fall further - in part reflecting the loss of the scrappage scheme. UK-built cars outperformed the market, up 17.4 percent over year-to-date and 7.4 percent in December. The market share was the highest since 2005. Diesel penetration also rose to a record 46.1 percent, in part helped by growth of MPV and dual purpose (SUV) segments, which have a high diesel penetration, as well as the slowdown in petrol car sales post scrappage.

Fiat Automobiles sold 53,093 cars in total last year in the UK, down 12.01 percent on 2009 which it shifted 60,337 units, and consequently its market share slid from 3.02 to 2.61 percent year-on-year. The mid-year arrival of the Giulietta couldn't stop Alfa Romeo from losing ground year-on-year, 8,834 units sold last year versus 9,067 during 2009 was down slightly, by 2.57 percent, year-on-year. It's market share for the full year was very little changed from 0.45 (2009) to 0.43 (2010) percent. Abarth however provided a positive year-on-year note for Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA), the Scorpion's 1,425 units total last year compared to 1,381 units during 2009 was up 3.19 percent year-on-year; its market share remained unchanged on 0.07 percent.

Meanwhile the Chrysler Group, which Fiat increased its stakeholding in to 25 percent yesterday, made no impact on the UK market during December. The Chrysler brand, which Fiat ambitiously believes it can successfully relaunch in the UK, managed 91 registrations (-52.85 percent); Dodge, which is being phased out of the UK and is therefore now irrelevant to the U.S. carmaker's data, sold 23 cars (-88.94 percent); while Jeep had the best volumes from the group, albeit just 186 units (-41.32 percent).