Lancia though fell one thousand two hundred units and 19.18 percent in October to 5,456 units, reducing its share to 4.67 percent, while Alfa Romeo was flat (-0.18 percent) at 3,331 units with its market share shifting upwards to 2.85 percent.

Amongst the niche brands, Jeep was Fiat Group Automobiles' (FGA) biggest loser in year-on-year terms, slumping 31.62 percent to 480 units while the Fiat Group's two luxury/performance brands fared even worse, Ferrari was own 47.83 percent to 12 cars and Maserati dropped 52 percent to also finish the month just gone with 12 sales.

As has become the usual case now, the new Fiat Panda was Italy's best selling car during October, with 12,171 sales, but the gap has become a mountain to the fast-fading Punto which shrank to 5,487 units. Fourth came the Fiat 500 on 3,683 units while in sixth was the Lancia Ypsilon (3,375) and the final FGA representative in the top 10 was the Alfa Romeo Giulietta which nicked the last place after selling 2,506 cars.

For the year-to-date the Panda has edged over the six figure mark with 100,704 sales while the Punto languishes a distant second on 70,056 units. The Ypsilon is third (39,297) one place ahead of the 500 (37,975) with the Giulietta (26,270) ninth. Of the 500's sales, 98 were the roll-roof 500C during October while for the year-to-date this version is on 2,933 units.

Traditionally Italy's top oil burner is the Punto, but it was only sixth last month with just 1,622 sales, while the Panda (1,781) and Giulietta (1,642) were third and fifth respectively. Top spot amongst diesels last month went to the VW Golf (2,861) ahead of the Peugeot 208 (1,833). For the year-to-date the Punto is second amongst diesels with 23,085 units, just two thousand shy of the Golf. The Giulietta (17,703) is Italy's third best selling diesel for the year-to-date.

Amongst the segments the Panda ruled the roost in A-segment during October, its sales up three thousand units year-on-year, while the second placed 500 had a better month, losing just a few hundred units when compared to October 2011. For the year-to-date the Panda is up three thousand units but the 500 drops more than fifteen thousand units for the same period.

In B-segment the Punto was the big seller last month, but it dropped more than three thousand units year-on-year while for the year-to-date it has shed thirty five thousand units when compared to the first ten months of 2011. Alfa Romeo's MiTo is now far from the B-segment top ten as its sales fade away. It lost a third of its sales year-on-year during October to finish on just 652 units and for the year-to-date it is on 9,396 registrations, down seven thousand units on the same period last year.

In C-segment the Giulietta was second, the same position it holds for the year-to-date, having dropped more than fourth thousand units year-on-year. Fiat's Bravo, meanwhile, has 10,287 sales for the year-to-date in C-segment. In D-segment the Fiat Freemont added 912 sales last month to take fifth in the class; it is now on 12,399 units for the year-to-date which puts its as the segment's second best seller, less than a thousand units shy of VW's Tiguan. In E-segment the Jeep Grand Cherokee was sixth but its sales have shrunk away to just 131 units. For the year-to-date the Grand Cherokee is the seventh best seller on 1,447 units. In F-segment meanwhile the only Italian interest in the top 10 was Maserati's GranTurismo which weighed in with 11 units. For the year-to-date only Ferrari's 458 Italia squeezes into the top 10, with 141 units, down more than a hundred on the same period last year.

Elsewhere the Lancia Musa is enjoying a renaissance in its final days, shifting 1,189 units last month and nearly doubling sales year-on-year. That put it at the top of the class for small MPVs, ahead of the Citroën C3 Picasso (1,028) and Opel Meriva (705) while Fiat's new 500L was fourth on 701 units. For the year-to-date the Musa is the leader amongst mini MPVs with 11,934 units sold, one and a half thousand ahead of the Meriva. Fiat's outgoing Idea is still in the top 10 for the year-to-date with 2,863 units sold while the Fiat 500L edges into the rankings with 1,791 now registered since launch.

Amongst large MPVs Lancia's Voyager, the rebadged Chrysler Town & Country, added 71 units in October, half what it managed during the same month last year when it first went on sale and dealer stock helped registration data, while for the year-to-date it is on 1,162 units.

In 'Multispace' Fiat's Qubo and Doblò continued to lock out the top two positions during October although their sales are sliding well in excess of the overall market's fall. The Qubo added 577 units last month, a fall of nearly four hundred units, while the Doblò nearly halved to 266 units. For the year-to-date the Qubo is almost flat on 9,279 units while the Doblò has lost nearly two and a half thousand units to stand on 3,138 registrations.

Elsewhere Lamborghini was flat on 5 units during October, it now has 56 sales for the year-to-date, while DR Motor shifted 47 cars, down 70.99 percent year-on-year. For the year-to-date, DR Motor, which assembles Chery models in Italy from CKD kits sent from China, is on 632 units, down 76.69 percent.