The Fiat Group posted sales of 37,016 units for February. When compared to the figure of 46,403 recorded during the same period last year, that represented a fall of over a fifth. That was slightly greater than the overall market’s decline, and meant the group’s share of its domestic market edged downwards once more, from 28.79 in February 2011 to 28.33 last month.

The Fiat brand was the big volume loser – its 25,123 units last month, compared to 32,121 in February last year, represented a decline of 21.79 percent, and its market share for the aforementioned periods contracted from 19.93 percent (2011) to 19.23 percent (2012).

On the plus side, Lancia bucked the market thanks to the steadying hand of the new Ypsilon, as well as an impressive month for the ageing Musa. Its performance of 7,073 registrations was only around 300 units down on the same month last year, and added up to a soft fall of 4.11 percent. That market-beating performance meant Lancia’s share of sales for February jumped from 4.58 percent (2011) to 4.58 percent (2012).

But against this pleasing performance, Alfa Romeo had a shocking month, losing more than a third of its sales, as the MiTo sank and the Giulietta lost ground. Its 4,041 units sold last month was down 35.54 percent on February last year when sales came in at 6,269 units.

In year-on-year terms, Jeep was the best performer from Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA) as its 747 sales last month was up 37.32 percent when compared to 544 registrations during February 2011. However, despite these gains, the off-road brand remains only a nominal player in the Italian market – its performance delivered a market share of 0.57 percent.

The Fiat Group’s two luxury/performance brands, Ferrari and Maserati, both endured a dismal February. The Trident fared the worse as its sales collapsed: just 5 registrations, compared to 33 during the same month last year, added up to a fall of 84.85 percent. Ferrari managed to sell 27 cars, less than half what it managed during the same month a year ago, when sales totalled 60 units. That amounted to a year-on-year slump of 55 percent.

After the first two months of the year, the Italian new car market has seen 268,240 new cars sold, a fall of 17.78 percent. Fiat Group has recorded 77,559 sales, and when compared to the 95,187 registrations it managed during the first two months of last year, it represents a fall of 18.52 percent – essentially mirroring the overall market’s drop. As a result, Fiat Group’s market share for the year-to-date slips from 29.71 percent (2011) to 28.91 percent (2012).

After just two months of the year, the Fiat brand had shed some 13,000 sales and sits on 53,524 units for the year-to-date, compared to 66,549 for the same period last year – a fall of 19.57 percent. Consequently, its YTD market share has declined from 20.40 percent in 2011 to 19.95 percent this year.

Lancia has secured 14,076 registrations after two months of the year – down slightly on the same period last year, when it sold 14,529 cars. That represents a drop of 3.12 percent. However, the brand has comfortably outperformed the overall market, and as a result its market share climbs from 4.45 percent during the equivalent period last year, to 5.25 for the first two months in 2012.

Alfa Romeo is enduring its usual yo-yo-ing sales pattern, and February’s result followed January’s in surrendering the gains of last year. Claiming 8,433 sales for the year to date, compared to 12,843 during the same period last year, represented a fall of 34.34 percent, leaving the brand as easily the worst performer in the FGA stable across 2012 thus far.

Looking at the results in more detail, it becomes apparent a recently-unveiled facelift for Fiat’s Punto has failed to arrest the continued slide in this core model’s sales fortunes so far. It shed 3,766 units from last February’s total of 10,820, representing a decrease of 34.81 percent – far higher than the overall decline in B-segment of just under 20 percent. The decline was not entirely set off by the small rise in deliveries recorded by the Panda nameplate, which on the back of the new model rose from 9,468 to 10,014 units (+5.77 percent) year-on-year. Also registering a modest rise in overall deliveries on the back of a new model was Lancia’s Ypsilon, which added 458 units to last February’s 4,091 registrations to wind up second in B-segment, on 4,549 (+11.20 percent).

However, the fashionable Lancia’s performance was undermined by a collapse in sales for its Fiat platform-mate, the 500. From being the third-best-selling model in Italy this time last year, behind only the Punto and Panda, the 500 shed more than 57 percent of its volume, relegating it outside the top 10 overall nameplates. As the volume leader, the hatchback’s decline of more than 55 percent (3200 units) accounted for the majority of the fall in overall terms, but matters were not helped by the difficult performance as usual from the cabrio, which accounted for only 74 units in total – a fall of more than 82.5 percent year-on-year. As a result, and despite the arrival of the new Panda, Fiat’s overall market share in A-segment declined from 55.90 to 54.66 percent.

For the sporty Alfa Romeo brand, it proved a dispiriting month, with the decline headed by the brand’s MiTo supermini. Like the Punto on which it is based, the MiTo is now ageing against fresher rivals without a makeover in sight, and this fact is reflected in its sales, which continued their downward trend. It lost 927 units year-on-year, or 43.83 percent. The C-segment Giulietta fared somewhat better, retaining its second place in C-segment, albeit by a mere two registrations from the new Ford Focus. Shifting 2,750 units, it dropped 25.80 percent year-on-year, against the segment’s average decline of 19.85 percent year-on-year.  Together, the MiTo and Giulietta accounted for 3,938 of Alfa’s sales, with the remaining hundred or so units accounted for by runout stock of the D-segment 159.

Elsewhere in C-segment, the supposedly mainstream Fiat Bravo shifted just 1,433 units, down 50.71 percent on February 2011’s 2,907 registrations. That pushed it from fourth in the segment to ninth. The Lancia Delta, meanwhile, continued to record a steady sales performance, notching 1,100 registrations.

But while Lancia’s Italian-developed models maintain consistent sales performances, its range of ‘Imported from Detroit’ rebadged Chryslers, rushed to market as stop-gap ‘range fillers’, continue to attract little enthusiasm from Italian consumers. As usual, the Thema failed to notch sufficient registrations to make the E-segment top 10. Having recorded just 75 registrations in January, this figure slipped to 66 in February, rather undermining Fiat management’s argument that the Thema’s arrival in showrooms would help provide a meaningful boost in volume for struggling Lancia dealers. It seems unlikely these volumes will see a significant boost in the near-term, despite the Geneva unveiling of two more rebadged Chrysler variants – an all-wheel-drive version of the Thema, and the D-segment Flavia convertible. The Voyager MPV, meanwhile, added 114 registrations, placing it fifth in the large MPV category and fourth for the year-to-date.

In the mini-MPV category, the Lancia Musa recovered from a poor January to reclaim segment leadership, shifting 1,244 units. While this represented a decline from February 2011’s 1,674 registrations, in percentage terms it amounted to a drop of 25.69 percent, just a touch over the segment average of 24.97 percent. This performance easily bested its main rival, the second-placed Opel Meriva, which shed 1,435 units (57.49 percent) year-on-year. The Musa’s stablemate, the Fiat Idea, notched 597 registrations to place fifth in the segment. Both the Idea and Musa also retain those monthly positions in the year-to-date rankings.

Consistent performances were also notched by Fiat’s offerings in the ‘Multispace’ category, where the Qubo and Doblò assumed their traditional first and second places, shifting 831 and 348 units respectively. For the year to date, the Qubo has secured 1,897 registrations (up on 2011’s 1,788), while the Doblò’s 663 registrations mark a slight decrease from its figure of 767 in the equivalent period last year.

Elsewhere, with the Sedici fast fading from the four-wheel-drive segment, the Freemont AWD recorded 438 registrations as dealers across Italy took delivery of showroom stock. These contributed to the Freemont’s overall total of 1,575 registrations, putting it top of D-segment for the month and second for the year to date, sandwiched behind Volkswagen’s Tiguan and Passat models. Jeep’s Grand Cherokee continues to spearhead the drive to re-establish the brand’s presence  in Italy, shifting 173 units. This put in seventh in E-segment, both for the month and for the year to date.

In the elite F-segment, the Maserati brand failed to register any of its models in the top 10, thus the sole Fiat Group representation came courtesy of the Ferrari 458 Italia, which notched 14 sales, down 11 units on February 2011. For the year to date, the 458 has 40 registrations, half its figure at the same time last year, while the brand’s FF added six registrations to January’s 10.

Traditional rival Lamborghini reconnected with Italian buyers, selling 15 cars which, when compared to its four registrations in February last year, represented a rise of 275 percent. After the first two months of the year Lamborghini has 21 sales, up 61.54 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, DR Motor saw a continuation of its sales slump, notching just 71 units last month – a year-on-year fall of 82.07 percent. For the year-to-date, DR Motor, which harbours ambitious hopes to utilise Fiat’s former factory in Termini Imerese, Sicily, has 179 sales, down 81.04 percent on the same two months last year.