However while Fiat Automóveis is performing well versus the other big players on the Brazilian market - VW, GM and Ford - all the established brands are coming under steadily increasing pressure from newer market entrants.

Fiat enjoyed a solid November amongst passenger car sales and 53,008 units compared to 56,447 during the same month last year represented a decline of 6.1 percent which exactly matched the overall passenger car segment's slip However Fiat ended the month a comfortable two thousand units clear of its closest rival. Fiat's best-seller was the Uno, which added 22,951 units during November.

In total 233,557 new passenger cars were sold in Brazil last month. The other three big players on the Brazilian market all fared worse than Fiat in year-on-year terms: VW's 50,917 units in November was down 12.7 percent year-on-year, GM's 47,213 units was down 8.8 percent, while fourth placed Ford was the biggest loser amongst the four main automakers, its 21,542 units was down 13.2 percent.

Meanwhile, in month-on-month terms Fiat was up a strong 17.1 percent in November, when compared to October's data when it sold 45,263 units; that also beat the overall market which was up 14.9 percent in November versus October.

Amongst LCVs Fiat continued to lead the market with 13,270 registrations in November. However it underperformed the overall market as well as its key rivals. In total 71,626 LCV class vehicles were sold in Brazil last month, up 14.3 percent on the same period last year. Fiat sold 13,270 LCVs during November and when compared to 13,648 during the same month a year ago that was a narrow fall of 2.8 percent. Of its total, the bulk of deliveries - 9,867 units - came from the Strada pickup which retained its long-running position as Brazil's LCV leader. Although Fiat had a cushion of more than three thousand units, its two main rivals both had a better month in year-on-year terms, VW's 9,737 units was up 3.6 percent while GM's 9,716 units was up 27.9 percent. In month-on-month terms Fiat was up 11.8 percent when compared to October's 11,967 units tally.

For the year-to-date Fiat has sold a total of 685,111 passenger cars and LCVs combined; that performance keeps it as the leading carmaker on the Brazilian market with a 22.1 percent share of all sales for the 11 month period. Fiat has 540,068 passenger cars sales for the year-to-date, and when compared to 547,068 units during the same period last year, that is almost flat (-1.2 percent). The overall Brazilian market meanwhile is on 2,395,644 registrations for the year-to-date, up just 1.7 percent.

In the segment reserved for LCVs Fiat has 144,415 sales for the year-to-date, up 7.8 percent on the same period last year when the Italian brand sold 134,013 units. Fiat also maintains a significant gap to its nearest rivals amongst LCV sales: VW has 102,595 registrations for the year-to-date, up 18.1 percent year-on-year, while GM has sold 93,214 units, up 8.5 percent.