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Fiat Group Automobiles' performance across
Europe last month was driven by the Fiat
brand which bucked the market to rise four
and a half thousand units and 7.7 percent to
63,149 units. As a result the Fiat brand's
market share climbed by 0.8 percent to 4.7
percent. |
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Fiat
Group sold 80,703 cars in Europe last month which was
just less than one thousand units adrift of the same
month last year and that allowed it to outperform the
overall market and raise its year-on-year market share,
albeit to 6 percent.
However, while the performance on paper told one story,
the reality was much more bleak as last year Fiat
Group's sales were hit by a car transporter drivers'
strike in Italy that saw European sales dropping by a
quarter, and in fact last month it was a long way adrift
of usual closest rivals, including GM, Ford and BMW, in
volume terms, this trio of rivals also partly driven
upwards by a boost from the UK where Fiat Group
Automobiles (FGA) now only retains a niche status.
In total, 1,346,889 new passenger cars were sold in
Europe (counting the 27 EU member nations plus the EFTA
signatories) last month, a fall of 10.3 percent
year-on-year which mirrored the continent's year long
performance.
FGA's performance across Europe last month was driven by
the Fiat brand which bucked the market to rise four and
a half thousand units and 7.7 percent to 63,149 units.
As a result the Fiat brand's market share climbed by 0.8
percent to 4.7 percent.
The good news ended there however and the niche brands
all posted double digit losses in March despite the
negative effects of last year. Lancia (which includes a
handful of Chrysler brand sales in its figures) lost
more than one thousand five hundred sales and 17.7
percent year-on-year to 7,652 units while Alfa Romeo
fell three thousand units and 29.5 percent to 7,180
units.The token
brands also lost ground, Jeep lost a quarter of its
sales to end last month on 2,176 units while the Fiat
Group's two luxury/performance brands, Ferrari and
Maserati, sold a combined 546 cars, down 16.9 percent.
After the first quarter of the year, 3,096,266 new cars
have been sold in Europe, down 9.7 percent on the same
period last year.
The Fiat Group mirrors the overall market direction, it
is down twenty thousand units and 9.1 percent to 197,806
units for the year-to-date. That however raises its
market share for Q1 slightly by 0.1 percent year-on-year
to 197,806 units.
The Fiat brand is FGA's best performer in Europe so far
this year, it is flat (-0.3 percent) after three months
and is on 153,807 units, while its market share for Q1
is up half a point to 5.0 percent.
Lancia is on 19,336 units for the year-to-date, down
eight thousand units and 29.1 percent while its first
quarter market share drops by 0.2 percent to 0.6
percent. Alfa Romeo is FGA's biggest loser so far this
year in year-on-year terms, down just under ten thousand
units and 35.5 percent to 17,545 units, its market share
for the first quarter also mirroring Lancia's, dropping
by 0.2 per net year-on-year to 0.6 percent.
The Fiat Group's nominal brands all lose ground for the
year-to-date, Jeep drops 18.8 percent to 6,092 units for
a 0.2 percent share of the European market, while
Ferrari and Maserati have notched up combined sales of
1,026 units, down 29.2 percent on the opening three
months of 2012.
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