Fiat
Group has ended the year in Italy with another poor
month to cap a dismal year, with its 31,737
registrations in December representing a fall of
one-fifth year-on-year, as well as an underperformance
of the overall market, which dropped fifteen percent.
The data, released by Italian automotive industry trade
body UNRAE, reveals that 111,212 new cars were
sold in Italy last month, compared to 131,298 during
December 2010.
That marked a poor end-of-year performance for the Fiat
Group, and those near-32,000 registrations on its key
domestic market marked a fall of 19.80 percent when
compared to the 39,570 units sold during the same period
of the previous year, 2010. That means the Fiat Group’s
overall market share drops from 30.14 percent in
December 2010 to 28.54 percent last month.
The big problem for Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA), as
ever, was its volume Fiat brand. It recorded 22,758
units sold last month, compared to 29,568 in December
2010, representing a fall of 23.03 percent. That lowered
Fiat’s December market share down to 20.46 percent, from
22.52 percent in 2010.
The two secondary FGA brands – Lancia and Alfa Romeo –
likewise slipped last month. Lancia fell 8.57 percent
after selling 5,247 cars, although it comfortably
outperformed the overall market. Worryingly, however,
that performance was some 500 units down on last year,
despite the marque having the benefit of the
new-generation Ypsilon, as well as a couple of rebadged
Chrysler models. Nevertheless, outperforming the overall
market meant Lancia’s total share for December was up
from 4.37 percent (2010) to 4.72 percent (2011). Alfa
Romeo also slumped last month, down 20.41 percent
year-on-year after selling 3,831 cars. Alfa Romeo’s
Italian market share for December thus slid from 2.92
percent (2010) to 2.74 percent (2011). Amongst the
smaller brands, Jeep was up 68.13 percent after selling
649 vehicles in December, while Ferrari slumped 48
percent to just 13 cars and Maserati remained unchanged
on 21 cars.
Across the whole of 2011, a total of 1,748,143 cars were
sold in Italy, down 10.88 percent on 2010’s full year
figure. The Fiat Group sold 515,621 new cars in Italy
last year, down more than eighty thousand units and
13.84 percent on 2010. That underperformed the overall
Italian market and meant the group’s market share
dropped from 30.51 percent in 2010 to 29.50 percent in
2011.
The Fiat brand sold 363,017 cars in Italy in 2011, down
some 87,000 units and 10.47 percent on 2010. As a
result, its share of all domestic sales slipped from
22.98 percent (2010) to 20.77 percent (2011). Lancia’s
85,552 sales were just under 3,000 units and 3.26
percent down on 2010, and gave it a 4.89 percent share
of all sales last year. Thanks to a strong start to
2011, Alfa Romeo ended the year with 58,148 sales, up
just over 6,000 units and 12.04 percent on 2010, while
its market share for 2011 finished at 3.33 percent. The
niche brands had a mixed year – Jeep was up 28.89
percent to 7,920 units, while Ferrari and Maserati both
lost ground, the former falling 16.79 percent to 570
units, while the latter dropped 17.03 percent to 414
units.
Elsewhere, DR Motor, which assembles selected models
from China’s Chery from CKD kits and is touting heady
plans to take over Fiat’s now-closed Termini Imerese
factory, saw its December sales collapse 89.9 percent to
just 81 cars. DR Motor’s full-year 2011 sales came in at
2,920 cars, down 40.78 percent on 2010. Finally,
Lamborghini is suffering from Italian consumers shunning
home-grown sports cars, although its rejection by buyers
is far worse than those suffered by Ferrari or Maserati
– it sold just one car in December, which left it on
just 72 sales in Italy for the whole of 2011, down a
quarter on 2010.
Fiat’s Punto was once again Italy’s best-selling car in
December with 8,456 units registered, putting it
narrowly ahead of the Panda, which notched up 8,361
sales. Lancia’s new Ypsilon was fourth with 3,881 sales,
while the Fiat 500’s sales took a surprising nosedive to
just 2,263 units. That only just kept it amongst the top
ten best sellers, in tenth place, while the
less-successful 500C version slipped to just 25 units
last month. With the recent decline in Alfa Romeo
Giulietta sales putting it out of the picture, that
meant four FGA models in the Italian top ten for
December. The Punto was also Italy’s top selling diesel
car for December, with 3,473 sold, while the Giulietta
was in fifth, with 1,408 of its sales being oil burners.
Across the entirety of 2011, the Punto remained Italy’s
best-selling car, despite a sharp drop in demand. Its
final total of 121,963 units kept it clear of the Panda,
which ended the year on 115,613 units. The 500 (59,821)
was fourth ahead of the Ypsilon (54,824), with the
Giulietta (34,958) hanging on in tenth to make it five
FGA models in the top ten. The Punto was also the
top-selling diesel in 2011, with 52,208 sales.
Looking at the results in more detail, the Panda and 500
again locked out the top two spots in A-segment, while
in B-segment, the Punto and Ypsilon placed first and
third respectively. Given that a new model is just
around the corner, the eight-year-old Panda has held up
well, dropping only 23,000 units between 2010 and 2011.
The 500 shed some 8,000 units year-on-year, while Fiat’s
current problem child, the Punto, slipped 33,000 units
compared to last year. The Ypsilon however, thanks to
the launch of the new model, put on more than 8,000
units year-on-year. Unfortunately, the new Y is proving
a tough sell to retail customers, and in December, its
3,881 sales were up only 113 units on the total managed
by the old model in December 2010 – meaning it is
falling well short of management’s ambitious targets to
double sales. As is now traditional, there was no place
in the B-segment top 10 for Alfa Romeo’s MiTo – its
sales slide continues, and 976 units last month compared
unfavourably to December 2010 when it shifted 1,611
units. The MiTo finished 2011 with 18,345 registrations,
more than 7,000 adrift of 2010.
In C-segment, the Giulietta had a decent month, and at
1,864 registrations, it was up more than 600 units on
December 2010 – although it has never managed to make a
stab at the segment leader, VW’s Golf, which recorded
2,781 sales last month. For the full year, the Giulietta
managed 34,955 sales, with the Golf on 49,158. The Opel
Astra placed third and the Nissan Qashqai fourth on
30,763 and 30,048 units respectively. But for FGA’s
other C-segment contenders, December – as for the year
as a whole – marked another disappointing sales chapter.
Both finished outside the top 10 for December, the Bravo
shifting just 763 units and the Delta even fewer. That
left the Bravo on 19,847 units for the full year,
finishing seventh in C-segment (down from fifth last
year), while the Delta failed to rank inside the top 10,
meaning it sold less than 15,500 units for the full
year.
In D-segment the Fiat Freemont (Dodge Journey) continues
to sell well, aided by sharp pricing. With 1,133 units
added in December, it topped the segment, narrowly ahead
of VW’s Passat (1,043) and Tiguan (1,008). The Freemont
has now notched up 9,983 sales in Italy since it went on
sale last year. In E-segment the Jeep Grand Cherokee
(187) was fifth, and over the whole of 2011 the American
SUV recorded 1,811 sales in Italy. There was a continued
no-show, though, for Lancia’s new Thema (a rebadged
Chrysler 300). Having failed to break the segment top 10
last month, it repeated that performance in December.
Total figures are unavailable, but with the tenth-placed
E-segment car (Mercedes’ CLS) selling 84 units last
month, it means the Thema managed less than this number.
In F-segment, the Italian luxury/performance brands are
struggling to find buyers and only Maserati’s
GranTurismo (12) and Ferrari’s FF (9) cracked the top
ten, meaning all the other Italian prestige models sold
8 units or less domestically last month. German brands
locked out the top five in F-segment in December, with
Porsche’s Panamera the top seller, at 53 units
registered. For the full year, the Ferrari 458 Italia
was the seventh-best seller in the segment with 264
registrations (up from 222 in 2010), with the
GranTurismo on 247 units (almost flat on the 251 it sold
in 2010) next up. Ninth place went to Ferrari’s
California with 187 sales; however, this 2+2 sports car
really fell out of favour with Italians last year, as
that figure represented only half of the 364 units it
managed in 2010.
Elsewhere, the Fiat Sedici added 310 sales last month,
although that was significantly down on the same month a
year ago when it saw 486 units sold, and dropped it to
ninth in the off-roader category. For the whole of 2011,
the Sedici recorded 7,698 registrations, a small fall
when compared to 8,065 during 2010. Amongst small MPVs,
the ageing Lancia Musa continues to plod along well,
adding 618 sales last month (958 in December 2010),
albeit that it that represented only half the
class-topping Opel Meriva’s total. The Musa’s sister,
Fiat’s Idea, added 381 sales in December. For the full
year, the Musa finished on 14,934 units, while the Idea
recorded 5,878 units. That was mixed when compared to
the previous year – the Idea largely maintained its
sales in a falling market (5,916 in 2010), but the Musa
dropped significantly from its 2010 figure of 22,433. In
the large MPV class, the new Lancia Voyager (a rebadged
Chrysler Town & Country) added 93 units to be the
fifth-best seller but down on November’s 112 units. The
category was topped by the Peugeot 5008 (360) and the
Chevrolet Orlando (201).
Finally, December’s red ink spread even to the
‘Multispace’ category, where Fiat’s Qubo and Doblò both
had a difficult month, although they retained their top
two positions. The Qubo saw 694 registrations in
December, down slightly from 755 during the same period
in 2010, but the Doblò’s slumped dramatically, shrinking
fivefold from 1,304 sales in December 2010 to just 232
last month. For the entirety of 2011, the Qubo sold
11,551 units (16,078 in 2010) and the Doblò 6,202 units
(7,317 in 2010). However, they ran out comfortable
category winners in 2011 – the third-placed Citroën
Berlingo would up with 2,397 sales, just ahead of its
brand sister, the Nemo (2,249).
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