In total 137,442 new cars were sold in Italy during July according to Italian automotive industry body UNRAE. Fiat Group meanwhile sold 40,842 new cars in Italy during July, and when compared to the 44,901 units it sold in the same month last year, that equated to a drop of almost one-tenth. However that just beat the overall market meaning that the carmaker's Italian share for July improved slightly from 29.18 percent (2010) to 29.72 percent (2011).

The Fiat brand continued to drag Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA) downwards, and the 28,576 cars it sold last month compared to 32,513 during the same period a year ago added up to a fall of 12.11 percent which underperformed the market. As a result the Fiat brand's market share for the month just gone slipped from 21.13 to 20.79 percent year-on-year.

Lancia was FGA's best performer last month as it was given a fillip by the new B-segment Ypsilon which helped to offset tailing off sales of its Musa and Delta. 7,331 registrations in July was a little under one hundred units better than the same month last year and added up to a solid rise of 1.23 percent. That helped Lancia boost its July market share from 4.71 percent (2010) to 5.33 percent (2011). Alfa Romeo fell 3.15 percent after selling 4,826 cars last month (4,983 in July 2010) but that also beat the market and helped it boost its market share for the month just gone from 3.24 percent (2010) to 3.50 percent (2011). Elsewhere Maserati sold 54 cars in Italy last month, that was 14 units and 20.59 percent down on the same month last year.

After the first seven months of the year the Italian new car market has seen 1,151,146 units sold, a fall of 12.74 percent year-on-year for the period. Fiat Group meanwhile is on 337,710 units so far this year and when compared with 405,899 during the year-to-date last year that's a decline of 16.80 percent. As Fiat Group has underperformed the overall market so far this year its market share for the year-on-date drops from 30.77 percent (2010) to 29.34 percent (2011).

The Fiat brand is on 240,033 registrations for the year-to-date and as ever is the rotten apple in the FGA barrel as that performance is more than seventy thousand units and 22.99 percent down on the same seven month period last year. As a result the Fiat brand's market share for the year-to-date declines from 24.63 percent (2010) to 20.85 percent (2011).

Lancia's 54,918 units for the year-to-date compared to 60,712 units during the same period last year adds up to a fall of 9.54 percent. However that outperforms the overall market and so Lancia's share of all Italian sales for the year-to-date is relatively flat year-on-year: 4.68 percent (2010) versus 4.77 percent (2011). Alfa Romeo is FGA's big winner for the year-to-date and its 42,975 units sold after seven months compared to 32,589 during the same period a year ago is a rise of well over one-quarter (28.30 percent). Alfa Romeo's market share for the year-to-date thus jumps from 2.47 percent (2010) to 3.65 percent (2011). Maserati, meanwhile, has sold 359 cars in Italy so far this year, a decline of 12.81 percent.

The sole surviving Chrysler Group brand in Italy, Jeep, is starting to feel the effects of a line-up of new and refreshed models as well as an extended dealer network that now that it comes under the FGA umbrella, and it sold 810 vehicles last month, and when compared to 339 in the same month a year ago, that's a harp rise of 138.94 percent. Elsewhere DR Motor, which assembles selected models from China's Chery Automobile in Italy under licence, sold 228 cars last month, down 42.86 percent year-on-year. For the year-to-date DR Motor has 3,004 registrations, down 27.60 percent on the same seven month period last year. Finally VW's Lamborghini brand continues to be shunned in its homeland although it did manage to shift 11 cars last month which was up 120 percent year-on-year, and for the year-to-date it is on 54 units, down 23.94 percent on the same period last year.

FGA locked out the top four slots in the Italian market last month thanks to a spurt by the new Lancia Ypslion which with 5,435 sales (including sales of the outgoing model combined) was the fourth best seller, pitching the usual interloper, Ford's Fiesta, into fifth by more than a hundred units. The Fiat Punto (10,184) was July's Italian best-seller ahead of the Fiat Panda (7,428) and Fiat 500 (5,605), while making it five FGA models in the top-ten for the month just gone was the Alfa Romeo Giulietta (3,057) in eighth. The Punto was the best selling diesel car in Italy with 4,808 being specified as oil burners.

For the year-to-date the Punto (81,501) is the clear Italian sales leader, almost ten thousand units ahead of the Panda (72,757) which is starting to see sharp tail off in sales ahead of the new model's arrival next month, while the 500 (43,293) is fourth to make it three Fiat brand models in the top-four for the year so far. The Ypsilon (32,466) in sixth and the Giulietta (24,732) in ninth wrap up FGA interest in the top ten best sellers in Italy for the first seven months of the year.

In the segments: A-segment the Panda and 500 were clear at the top as usual. Of the 500's 5,618 sales last month, the convertible 500C took just 385 of them, down from 507 during the same month last year, as the electric roll-top equipped version continues to suffer mainly from uncompetitive pricing. For the year-to-date the 500C has 2,966 sales, relatively flat on the same seven month period last year. In B-segment the Punto was the clear winner, but driven by the new fourth-generation model, the Ypsilon (combining together sales of both the new and the outgoing models) jumped to second place. In C-segment the Giulietta was little more than three hundred units shy of the category's top dog, VW's Golf (3,387), while the Fiat Bravo (1,359) continues to float around the lower reaches of the top-ten, in eighth place this month, as it remains amongst the sellers thanks to being propped up by lavish incentives. For the year-to-date the Giulietta is the second best seller in C-segment while the Bravo (14,205) is sixth. The Lancia Delta failed to make the top-ten during July and has vanished from the top-ten for the year-to-date.

In E-segment Ferrari's 458 Italia was the third best-seller in July with 38 units sold, one place ahead of Maserati's GranTurismo which clocked up 28 sales. It's platform sister, the GranCabrio, had an unusually good month as customers eyed up convertibles for the upcoming summer period and it cracked the top-ten in seventh place with 21 sold. Ferrari's California rounded out the E-segment top-ten with 14 sold. The best-selling car in E-segment last month was the Porsche Panamera with 59 sold. For the year-to-date the 458 Italia is the sixth best seller in E-segment with 234 registrations, one slot ahead of the GranTurismo which is on 187 units, while the California (170) is ninth. For the year-to-date the Porsche 911 tops E-segment sales with 499 units sold while notably the Maserati Quattroporte has vanished from the top-ten for both July and the year-to-date as its sales drop off ahead of the arrival of its replacement.

The new Fiat Freemont (a rebadged Dodge Journey R/T) topped D-segment with 1,914 registrations, well clear of the runner up, VW's Passat (1,348). Amongst the large MPVs sold in Italy it also bounced to the top of the tree, posting nearly three times the sales volume of the Peugeot 5008 (756), while the Chevrolet Orlando (240) was a very distant third.

Amongst the small MPVs meanwhile the aging Lancia Musa (846) was batted down to third place last month thanks to the arrival of the Hyundai iX20 (1,348) which slotted in ahead of the Opel Meriva (1,076). The Musa is the second best selling small MPV in Italy for the year-to-date, with 11,784, registrations while Fiat's Idea, which didn't make the July top-ten, is seventh on 3,787 units which is actually ahead of the same period last year.

In "Multispace" the Qubo (986) and Doblò (420) topped the class as usual and for the year-to-date it is the same story as the duo have notched up 7,580 and 4,435 sales respectively; however while the Doblò's sales are flat year-on-year for the seven month period of 2011, the Qubo's have however tanked, the Fiorino-based people mover dropping five thousand units.