Fiat
suffered a truly torrid March in Italy as its sales
crashed by 35.99 percent, partly due to the effects of a
transporter drivers' strike, but it also significantly
underperformed the overall market which slumped 26.72
percent. It was the worst March sales performance for
the Italian carmaker in fact for 32 years. In total
138,137 new cars were sold in Italy last month according
to industry body UNRAE and that was fifty
thousand units less than March 2011.
The Fiat Group's 35,990 registrations in March was
twenty thousand units shy of the same month last year
when it accounted for 55,916 units. As a result of
falling much faster than the overall market the Fiat
Group's domestic share fell from 29.66 percent last
March to 26.05 percent for the month just gone.
The Fiat brand was the big volume loser, its 24,900
units last month compared to 28,953 during the same
month last year was a fall of 36.08 percent.
Significantly the Fiat brand's domestic downwards spiral
has seen it now consistently break through the twenty
percent barrier, its market share slumped to 18.03
percent last month compared to 20.67 percent during the
same month a year ago.
Lancia sold 6,490 cars last month and, when compared to
9,210 in March 2011, that was a slide of 29.53 percent
and that tipped its market share down slightly to 4.70
percent for the month just gone.
Alfa Romeo was Fiat Group Automobiles' (FGA) worst
performer in year-on-year terms as it dropped 45.59
percent with 3,889 registrations last month compared to
7,148 during March 2011. That lowered its domestic sales
share from 3.79 percent last March to 2.82 percent last
month.
The only bright spot for FGA was Jeep as it rose 33.67
percent to 663 units; that comfortably outperformed the
falling overall market. That raised Jeep's market share
for March to 0.48 percent. The Fiat Group's two
luxury/performance brands have fallen out of favour in
an austerity-focused domestic market and both suffered
dire March sales: Ferrari fell 40.91 percent to 39 units
while the Trident managed to sell just 9 cars, a
collapse of 79.09 percent.
After the first quarter of the year the Italian new car
market is down 20.95 percent to 406,907 units, a drop of
more than one hundred thousand units on the opening
three months of last year. Fiat Group meanwhile has
113,635 registrations for the year-to-date, down almost
forty thousand units and a quarter (-24.80 percent) on
the same three months last year. Fiat's market share for
the first quarter of 2011 was already below thirty
percent (-29.35 percent), now the steady decline takes
it to a 27.93 percent domestic share for the opening
three months of this year.
The Fiat brand is the FGA (Fiat Group Automobiles) big
loser for the year-to-date having managed to shift just
78,479 units, a drop of one-quarter (-25.61 percent) on
the same period last year when volumes came in at
105,502 units. As a result the Fiat brand's overall
market share for the first quarter rests below twenty
percent (-19.29 percent) compared to 20.50 percent
during the first three months of 2011.
Lancia beats the overall market for the first quarter as
it's sales have shrunk by three thousand units and 13.36
percent to 20,589 units. As a result of outperforming
the market its market share climbs from 4.62 percent
during the first three months of 2011 to 5.06 percent
during the same period this year. Alfa Romeo however is
sinking quickly and its 12,330 units is down 38.32
percent on the same period last year and its
year-to-date market share drops to 3.03 percent
(compared to 3.88 percent during Q1 2011).
Jeep continues to be FGA's best performer for the year
so far and 2,096 units is a rise of 38.53 percent
year-on-year. Ferrari (108 units, -51.35 percent) and
Maserati (110 units, -70 percent) have both been shunned
by Italian consumers for the year-to-date.
The Fiat Panda was Italy's best selling car in March,
thanks to the arrival of the new-generation model, with
10,287 registrations, although that is down on the same
month last year when it saw 12,681 registrations. (The
Panda however has built up an order book of 42,000
units, according to Fiat). The Punto was second with
7,117 units sold, that was just half the sales it
managed last March (14,106 units). Lancia's new Ypsilon
saw a strong recent run slowed as it shifted 3,910 units
(5,307 in March 2011) while the final FGA model in the
top ten, in ninth, was the fast-fading Fiat 500 which
added 3,105 units (5,255 in March 2011). The Punto was
also knocked off its perch as the market's top selling
diesel, it's 2,719 units last month left it adrift of
VW's oil burning Golf which saw 3,522 sales. The diesel
version of Alfa Romeo's Giulietta (which was also the
twelfth best selling car for the month just gone) was
the only other FGA contender in the diesel-powered top
ten for March, its 1,884 units placed it ninth.
For the year-to-date the Panda is the clear Italian
market leader, its 30,756 units though is two and a half
thousand less units than the same period last year but
puts it well clear of the Punto in second place with
22,760 registrations. The collapse in domestic sales of
the Punto, Fiat's key model has now reached alarming
proportions and it is down fifteen thousand units on the
same period last year, despite its recent panic refresh.
The Ypsilon (13,620) makes it a top-three lockout for
FGA, its sales are almost flat on last year thanks to
the stabilising influence of a new model, while the
now-sliding 500 (10,573) in seventh and the Giulietta
(8,326) in ninth mean the Italian carmaker accounts for
half the top-ten best-sellers.
Across the segments the Panda and Punto locked out the
top two slots in March as usual in A-segment while in
B-segment the Punto was the best-seller with the Ypsilon
third. Alfa Romeo's MiTo has dropped away from the
B-segment top-ten and its 1,147 sales last month in fact
left it only as Italy's thirtieth best-selling car
overall for the month.
In C-segment the Giulietta was knocked down to third
behind the Golf (4,420) as well as the Opel Astra
(2,692). For the year-to-date the Giulietta has 8,331
sales compared to the Golf's 11,427, and is three and a
half thousand units adrift of its performance during the
same three month period last year. Meanwhile the Fiat
Bravo added 837 sales in March and has 3,369 sales for
the year-to-date which compares unfavorably with 8,169
for the period last year. There is no place anymore for
Lancia's Delta in the C-segment top-ten, the final nail
in the coffin coming from the most-recent ill-judged
model year makeover. It sold 834 examples last month.
That left two of FGA's key C-segment models, the Bravo
and Delta, in 49th and 50th place amongst the market's
overall sellers - and even trailing bigger D-segment
models from Audi, BMW, Mercedes and VW.
In D-segment the Fiat Freemont's run at the top thanks
to its competitive entry pricing appears to be running
its course and 1,143 units last month placed it fourth
in the category while its 4,124 units for the first
quarter keeps it in second place to VW's Tiguan (5,066).
In E-segment the only FGA entrant was Jeep's Grand
Cherokee with 155 sales while there was no place as ever
for the unfortunate new Lancia Thema. For the
year-to-date the Grand Cherokee is on 526 sales.
In F-segment the Ferrari 458 Italia (30) was fourth
while the California (7) and GranTurismo (7) were the
equal ninth best sellers and while the 458 Italia
remained reasonably steady, shedding just five sales
over March 2011 the California saw its sales plunge by
two-thirds and the GranTurismo by three-quarters, while
there was no place in the top-ten for Ferrari's FF which
hasn't as yet fully captured the imagination of Italian
buyers. For the year-to-date the 458 Italia is on 70
sales (down 45 units), the GranTurismo is on 21 units
(down 52 units) and the FF is on 18 units.
Elsewhere, in 'Fuoristrada' the Fiat Sedici had a burst
of life to add 415 units while in 'Multispace' the Fiat
Qubo (1,083) and Fiat Doblo (293) continued to lead the
segment as they do for the year-to-date with 2,988 and
961 sales respectively. In the class reserved for small
MPVs Lancia's aged Musa continues to hold up very well
and its 1,575 units sold last month compares favourably
with March last year when it sold 2,016 units. That kept
it in second place, a similar position it holds for the
year-to-date with 3,531 sold. Fiat's Idea is also
hanging on quite well as the clock ticks down on its
lifecycle and 391 sales put it in sixth place for the
month and it has totted up 1,556 sales for the first
quarter.
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