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The new Fiat Panda was Italy's best selling
car last month with 12,810 registrations
ahead of the Fiat Punto which added 8,593
units. |
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Fiat
Group continued to lose ground in Italy during May,
sales were down 11.33 percent to 46,500 units, although
it outperformed the overall market which dropped by
14.26 percent. In total 147,102 new cars were sold in
Italy last month according to industry body UNRAE
and that was almost twenty five thousand units less than
the same month last year.
For Fiat Group its decline added up to a loss of seven
thousand units when compared to May 2011, but as it
outperformed the overall market its market share rose
from 30.57 percent in May 2011 to 31.61 percent last
month.
The Italian carmaker's steady performance was driven by
the Fiat brand which had a much steadier month than
recently: its 33,252 cars sold last month when compared
to 36,864 in May 2011 added up to a fall of 9.80 percent
which outperformed the market and the Group. That raised
its market share for the month of May from 21.49 percent
last year to 22.60 percent this year.
All the Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA) brands were in the
red ink last month as Lancia's 7,739 sales in May was
down just under one thousand units and 10.16 percent on
the same month last year. It however also outperformed
the overall market and its share was up 0.2 percent to
5.26 percent.
Alfa Romeo lost a fifth of its Italian sales last month
as it sold 4,858 cars. When compared to 6,140 in May
2011 that was a fall of 20.88 percent. Its market share
dipped by 0.28 percent to 3.30 percent.
Fiat Group's niche brands also suffered in May, Jeep's
621 units registered was a fall of 13.63 percent, that
mirrored the overall market so its share remained
unchanged on 0.42 percent. The two luxury/performance
brands, Ferrari and Maserati, both failed to connect
with customers again: the Maranello brand was down 58.62
percent to 24 units while the Modena outfit lost 86.67
percent after selling only 6 cars.
After the first five months of the year a total of
684,962 cars have been sold in Italy, down 18.88 percent
year-on-year. Fiat Group meanwhile is on 201,153 units
and when compared to 249,857 units during the same
period last year that is a fall of 19.49 percent. That
pretty much mirrors the overall market's direction and
means that its market share is relatively similar: 29.59
percent for the January to May period last year compared
to 29.37 for the year-to-date this year.
The Fiat brand has sold 140,119 units for the
year-to-date, down 19.75 percent year-on-year, meaning
its market share for the period shifts down slightly by
0.22 percent to 20.46 percent. Lancia's 25,872 units is
down 10.41 percent on the same five month period last
year but outperforms the overall market which sees its
market share climbs from 4.74 to 5.24 percent. Alfa
Romeo is struggling and 21,648 sales so far this year is
ten thousand units and 31.61 percent down on the same
period last year.
The niche brands are mixed for the year-to-date, Jeep is
up three hundred units and 10.32 percent to 3,313 units,
Ferrari is down 54.86 percent to 158 units while
Maserati falls 77.62 percent and has managed to shift
just 47 cars in Italy so far this year.
The new Fiat Panda was Italy's best selling car last
month with 12,810 registrations ahead of the Fiat Punto
which added 8,593 units. The Fiat 500 was third after
adding 5,993 sales to bounce back after several under
pressure months while FGA representation in the top ten
for May was completed by the Lancia Ypsilon (4,942) in
fifth and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta (3,472) in seventh.
Amongst diesel-powered cars the Punto (2,334) and
Giulietta (1,989) were the second and third best-sellers
for May.
For the year-to-date FGA has a lock-out of the top three
positions in its home market with the Panda (54,355)
comfortably leading out the Punto (40,588) and Ypsilon
(23,250). Meanwhile the 500 (20,625) and Giulietta
(15,038) are fifth and ninth respectively. The Punto is
also Italy's second best-selling diesel car so far this
year with 13,233 being specified by buyers as
oil-burners.
Amongst the segments the Panda and 500 held command in
A-segment last month. The former kept its position
steady thanks to the arrival of the new third-generation
model (12,813 units in May 2011) while it is the same
story of the year-to-date, the Panda slipping just under
seven hundred units down versus the same period last
year. The 500 though hasn't fared as well, it lost one
and a half thousand units year-on-year last month and is
almost ten thousand down for the year-to-date. However,
the roll-roof 500C version enjoyed a welcome uptick last
month as 1,028 sales of this model was a real bounce on
May 2011 when it shifted 579 units. May's performance in
fact accounted for well over half its Italian sales for
the year-to-date which now stand at 1,749 units. By
contrast the 500C had notched up 2,050 sales by this
point in time last year.
In B-segment the Punto was the comfortable winner but it
lost just over three thousand units year-on-year while
for the year-to-date it is nearly twenty thousand units
shy of this point last year. There was no place in the
B-segment top ten for the Alfa Romeo MiTo, it faded to
just 1,248 sales last month compared to 2,151 during May
2011, while for the year-to-date it is on 5,928 units as
opposed to 10,198 units during the same period last
year.
However while the MiTo tanks, its C-segment sister, the
Giulietta, had a rosy May. It topped the segment with
3,473 sales, to beat the usual segment leader, VW's Golf
(which added 3,116 registrations) while the Giulietta
was also up 102 units on the same month last year. For
the year-to-date the Giulietta is on 15,047 units,
behind the Golf (17,998) but comfortably clear of the
Ford Focus (11,618). In year-on-year terms the Giulietta
is down just over three and a half thousand units.
In D-segment the Fiat Freemont rose to the top with
1,652 sales while for the year-to-date it is on 6,795
registrations, second in class to VW's Tiguan (8,056).
In E-segment the Jeep Grand Cherokee added 178 sales,
for the year-to-date it is on 838 units, but there was
no sign again of Lancia's Thema which can't breach the
relatively low barrier to make the top ten (in May's
case that meant matching the 76 units notched up by
Jaguar's XF). In F-segment all the Italian
performance/luxury cars went missing in action from the
top ten apart from Ferrari's 458 Italia which made it in
in ninth place with 14 sales (26 in May 2012) while for
the year-to-date it is also the only domestic
representative in the top ten, in fifth, with 98
registrations (172 for Jan-May 2011).
Elsewhere Lancia's Musa is having a good last kick at
life and its 1,446 units sold last month, although one
thousand units down on the same month last year, allowed
it to top the category for mini MPVs narrowly ahead of
Opel's Meriva. For the year-to-date the Musa is on 6,791
sales, down three thousand units year-on-year but it is
top of the class, again ahead of the Meriva (6,465).
Amongst the large MPVs, FGA's attempts to pass off
Chrysler's Town & Country as a Lancia continue to
flounder and it added 124 sales last month while for the
year-to-date the Voyager is now on 601 units.
In Multispace the Fiat Qubo (1,117) topped the
category ahead of the Fiat Doblò (464). The Qubo was
steady versus last May when it sold 1,271 units while
the Doblò lost a bit of ground as it shifted 699 units
during the same month a year ago. For the year-to-date
the Qubo is on 5,210 units sold versus 5,446 during the
same period last year while the Doblò is on 1,731 units
after the first five months of the year compared to
2,973 for January to May 2011.
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