Fiat Group continued to decline, its 45,297 units last month compared to 49,481 in April 2010 was down 8.46 percent year-on-year and consequently its market share dropped from 30.75 to 28.79 percent year-on-year.

The Fiat Automobiles brand as usual dragged the Group's performance down: 32,113 units registered during April compared to 37,731 for the same period last year was down 14.89 percent and its market share thus dropped from 23.45 to 20.41 percent. Lancia's 7,555 units registered in April compared to 7,937 during the same month a year ago saw it only mildly underperform the market (-4.81 percent) and its market share was therefore very little changed, contracting only slightly from 4.93 to 4.80 percent year-on-year for the month just gone.

Last month Alfa Romeo was, as has become the recent case, the best performer in the Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA) brand portfolio in Italy thanks to continuing demand for the Giulietta: 5,508 cars sold last month compared to 3,685 during the same period a year ago was up by a half (+49.47 percent) and its market share was correspondingly up from 2.29 to 3.50 percent year-on-year for April. Of the Fiat Group's two niche luxury/performance brands, Ferrari sold 70 cars (-5.41 percent) in April led out by the 458 Italia (31) and the California (28), while Maserati added 51 units (-5.56 percent) with the GranTurismo (31) being the Trident's top-seller.

After the first four months of the year the Fiat Group has 194,529 sales in total in Italy and when compared to the same period last year it is down by exactly a quarter (-25.04 percent) and its market share for the year-to-date has declined from 31.31 to 28.96 percent year-on-year. The Fiat brand leads out the volume collapse: 137,559 units sold so far this year compared to 202,846 units for the opening four months of 2010 equates to a drop of almost a third (-32.19 percent) and consequently its market share drops from 24.47 to 20.48 percent for the opening four months of the year, year-on-year. Lancia has sold 31,026 cars so far this year, and when compared to 37,962 units during the same four month period last year, that is down 18.27 percent. Lancia's market share for the year-to-date is however very little changed year-on-year, gaining slightly from 4.58 to 4.62 percent year-on-year. Alfa Romeo is again the key winner from the FGA stable: 25,497 cars registered for the year so far compared to 18,218 units during the same period last year is up 39.95 percent year-on-year and its market share thus climbs from 2.20 to 3.80 percent. Ferrari has sold 292 cars in Italy for the year-to-date and is flat year-on-year (+1.87 percent) with its winners being the 458 Italia (146) and California (108), while Maserati is on 155 units after four months and is down a fifth (-20.10 percent). The Trident's most in demand model is the GranTurismo (104).

The Fiat Panda (10,762) was the best-selling car for the month just gone in Italy and making it a Fiat Automobiles top-three lockout was the Punto (9,732) and 500 (5,961) in second and third places. The Lancia Ypsilon (3,991) and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta (3,468) in seventh and ninth places respectively made it five FGA models in the Italian top-ten for April. For the year-to-date the Punto (47,576) is the top-selling model in Italy and five thousand units clear of the Panda (42,794). The 500 (22,786) is fourth, the Ypsilon (17,371) is sixth and the Giulietta (15,394) is ninth for the year-to-date.

The Punto (3,570) was Italy's biggest selling diesel car during April while the Giulietta (2,707) made it two FGA oil burners in the top three. For the year-to-date these models hold the top-two positions amongst diesels with the Punto (20,238) ahead of the Giulietta (11,646).

In A-segment the Panda and 500 locked out the top-two positions for April while in B-segment the Punto was the runaway winner for the month with the Ypsilon fourth and the Musa (2,057) ninth. The Musa, which has seen its sales pegged back by the arrival in the showrooms of the new Opel Meriva in recent months to take away its crown amongst the small MPVs however has bounced back and it was more than a hundred units ahead of its GM stable rival in April. There was no room in the B-segment top-ten for the Alfa Romeo MiTo (1,511) again last month, it lost one thousand units of sales year-on-year in April, but for the year-to-date it squeezes into the final spot in the top-ten with with 8,043 sold, more than a third down on the same period last year when it was able to tap into the government 'scrappage' scheme.

In C-segment the Giulietta was second to the VW Golf (4,169) last month while the Fiat Bravo (1,609) in seventh and the Lancia Delta (1,497) in ninth both slotted in around their usual positions. For the year-to-date the Golf is just over five thousand units ahead of the Giulietta in sales with the Bravo (9,777) and the Delta (6,362) in sixth and ninth places respectively in the segment. In "Multispace" the Fiat Fiorino (1,082) and Doblò (653) were untroubled as usual at the top of the rankings in April and it is the same story for the year-to-date, the pair dominate the category with 4,141 and 2,218 sales respectively.

Elsewhere Lamborghini's products continue to be shunned by Italian buyers: it sold 4 cars last month and when compared to 19 units shifted during the same month last year that is a fall of four-fifths (-78.85 percent) while for the year-to-date it is on 24 cars less than half the number it sold during the opening four months of last year (-53.85 percent). It's is all the more embarrassing for Lamborghini when compared to its main rival Ferrari: the Raging Bull brand has sold just one car for every ten that the Prancing Horse brand has moved this year in Italy. DR Motor meanwhile bounced back to turn in a strong month: 220 cars sold in April compared to 70 during the same month a year ago was up 222.86 percent. For the year-to-date DR Motor, which assembles selected models from China's Chery Automobile under its own name from shipped-in CKD kits, has notched up 1,534 sales, down 32.57 percent.