In total 134,944 new cars were sold in the UK last month which was up 2.61 percent year-on-year according to the UK automotive industry trade body SMMT. This was in fact almost 7 percent and nearly 9,000 units ahead of SMMT’s forecast for the month, but market volumes however remain almost 20 percent off the level recorded in 2007, prior to recession. October looks set to account for 7 percent of annual volumes, on par with the average share recorded from 1999-2010.

The Fiat brand continued its long fade in the UK last month, its 2,849 sales compared to 3,548 in October 2010 was down 19.70 percent and its market share was down from 2.70 percent (2010) to 2.11 percent (2011). Fiat also missed out further as registrations in October were buoyed by a sharp recovery in the small car markets, with the "Supermini" segment up 17.4 percent and the "Mini" segment up 4.7 percent..

Alfa Romeo put a year of gains off the back of the arrival of the Giulietta behind it as the C-segment hatchback's positive sales momentum drifted out of the picture, and the sports brand's 786 registrations in the UK in October compared to 843 units during the same month a year ago left it down 6.76 percent. Consequently Alfa Romeo's UK market share for October slid from 0.64 percent (2010) to 0.58 percent (2011).

Abarth sold 75 cars last month, five less than the same month last year, a contraction of 5.33 percent. That gave the Scorpion brand a 0.05 percent share of the UK market last month.

Boosted by new models, Jeep sold 122 of its trademark off road capable vehicles in October, up 17.31 percent year-on-year. Chrysler turned in a typical performance, 41 sales last month was exactly half of which it managed during October 2010. Maserati however was positive for a change last month and 36 cars sold was up one third on the same period last year.

“October’s new car market rose 2.6 percent on last year – a positive result despite the uncertain economic climate,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. “Vehicle manufacturers and their dealer networks are working hard to offer consumers value for money through improved fuel efficiency, low running costs and innovative finance. We expect market conditions to remain challenging and hope the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement later this month will help to boost economic growth and consumer confidence.”

Registrations in the last three months have increased by 0.9 percent versus 2010, whilst over the last six months they were down 1.5 percent. This period of relative stability follows a weak start to the year that has left registrations over the year-to-date down 4.48 percent to 1,688,038 units. Fiat meaNWHILE has 37,041 sales so far this year and when compared to 47,405 during the same period last year that is a decline of 21.86 percent. It significantly underperforms the overall market and means that Fiat's market share for the year-to-date declines from 2.68 percent (2010) to 2.19 percent (2011).

Despite its registrations going backwards last month, Alfa Romeo is the UK's second-best performing brand so far this year in year-on-year terms (Infiniti is the best performer here, up 77.22 percent, albeit off the back of just 280 sales) with sales up by almost a half (+47.73 percent) on the same period last year. That equates to 10,266 sales and a market share of 0.61 percent for the first ten months of this year compared to 6,949 sales during the same period last year which equated to a 0.39 percent share.

Abarth is mildly down for the year-to-date: 1,156 units compared to 1,229 during the same period last year adds up to a 5.94 percent decline. The Scorpion's market share for the first five-sixths of the year remains unchanged on 0.07 percent. Elsewhere, Chrysler has managed 839 sales for the year-to-date, down one-third (-33.73 percent) on the same period last year, Jeep's 1,791 sales for the ten month period is up 4.25 percent, while Maserati's 410 units for the year-to-date is 63 units and 15.37 percent down on the same period of 2010.