The Italian new car market has started the new year in positive territory; Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) missed the sales rise as it remained flat, dragged down by declining sales for the Fiat brand but that was partially offset by Alfa Romeo which jumped by more than a quarter thanks to the Stelvio.
In total 177,822 new passenger cars were sold in Italy last month, a year-on-year rise of more than five thousand units and 3.36%. FCA sold a total of 50,982 cars last month, a rise of just under three hundred units and 0.54% which however underperformed the market and as a result its share contracted from 29.47% in January 2017 to 28.67% last month.
The Fiat brand was the laggard for FCA as it lost 3,000 units year-on-year to finish the first month of the year with 34,470 sales, down 7.95%, one of the worst performing major brands on this market during January.
Alfa Romeo however had a rosier month, it was up one thousand units and 28.34% to 4,520 units as it benefitted from the new Stelvio crossover which was only just starting deliveries during the same month last year although more worryingly the Giulia sedan seems to have very quickly run out of steam and its sales were almost flat year-on-year. As a result of its bounce, Alfa Romeo’s share of the total market was up by half a point to 2.54% for January.
Lancia, now reliant on a single ageing model, the Ypsilon, saw its sales down by one and a half thousand units and 26.57% to 4,250 units during January. Its share of all sales was down by almost one point to 2.39%.
The luxury brands had a mixed month, Maserati’s sales plummeted by a fifth, it was down 72 units and 21.18% to 268 cars for January as demand for its key Levante model slumped, while Ferrari was up 12.9% to 35 units.
Elsewhere, FCA’s Jeep brand saw its Italian sales double to 7,439 units during January while VW’s Lamborghini brand sold 9 cars in January and DR Motor, which assembles Chinese cars in Italy from CKD kits, was up 24.39% to 51 units for the month just gone.
In terms of the market’s best sellers, Fiat’s Panda continued unrivalled as the number one seller in Italy into the new year, its 11,237 units shifted in January was more than double its closest rival, sister model, the 500X which added 5,734 units, although the Panda shed significant sales volumes year-on-year. Fiat’s 500 was the fourth best seller, with 5,263 units, while Fiat’s Tipo (5,215 units) made it four FCA models in the top ten. The Ypsilon (4,250 units) was placed seventh and the Fiat 500L (3,902 units) ninth to wrap up FCA interest in the top ten.
Just outside the top ten for the month came Jeep’s two key models, the Compass (3,674 units) and the Renegade (3,553 units) in eleventh and thirteenth places respectively, while Alfa Romeo’s best seller, the Giulietta, was twenty third with 1,979 sales. Fiat’s elderly Punto added 1,776 units to be placed as the twenty eighth best seller while with 1,141 sales the Stelvio was the final FCA entrant in the top fifty for January, in forty second place.
Amongst the segments, the Panda and 500 continued to rule the roost in A segment, both far ahead of the third best seller, Opel’s Karl which found 1,671 buyers during January. However, both were significantly down year-on-year with the Panda losing more than three and a half thousand sales while the 500 was down almost one thousand units.
In B-segment the evergreen Ypsilon continued to defy expectations and was the third best seller, not too far behind Ford’s Fiesta and Citroën’s C3, while the 500L was fifth in this segment and it put on nearly four hundred units over the previous January.
The Ypsilon was also Italy’s fourth best-selling LPG car for the month, with 789 units specified in this format, the little Lancia finishing up behind Dacia’s Duster, Opel’s Corsa and Renault’s Clio and just ahead of the Panda which saw 767 LPG sales during January. The 500X, with 740 units shifted in LPG format, and the Tipo, with 496 units, were the seventh and ninth best-selling LPG powered cars for the month just gone.
Into C-segment and the 500X topped the category after an excellent month, its sales rocketing by more than two and a half thousand to 5,734 units while the second placed Tipo also saw its demand climb; it was up seven hundred units year-on-year to reach 5,215 sales.
The 500X was also Italy’s best-selling crossover car for the month and also the top selling diesel, with 4,111 being sold in oil burning format. Meanwhile the Tipo was the best-selling station wagon on the market with 2,021 sales being of this option, up nearly five hundred units on January 2017, while it was more than double its closest ‘estate’ rival, Audi’s A4 variant on 937 units.
Making it an all-FCA top four in C-segment were Jeep’s Compass and Renegade while the Giulietta wrapped up ‘home’ representation in the category and it was forty-six units up year-on-year as it locked down eighth place.
In D-segment the Stelvio took fourth place behind the VW Tiguan, Ford Kuga and BMW X1 while but with just 771 sales Alfa Romeo’s Giulia was a very disappointing tenth, up just four units on last January as its moment in the spotlights seems to be fading fast.
In E-segment Maserati’s luxury Levante SUV saw its sales more than half to 121 units as it just clung onto a place in the top ten in tenth place. In F-segment there was better news for the Trident brand as its Ghibli saw its sales rocket to 127 units last month (from 84 units in January 2017) as it took second place behind Porsche’s 911 and ahead of its Panamera. Ferrari’s 488 (coupe and convertible combined) sold a further 25 units in January to take seventh place in F-segment.
