In total 168,893 new passenger cars were sold in France last month, up 4.3% year-on-year, to continue the positive gains that kicked off the year back in January.

The Fiat brand sold 5,912 cars in France during February and that was up 8.8% year-on-year and equates to double the performance of the total market.

Alfa Romeo, meanwhile, was up 29.7% to 730 cars sold in February as it capitalised on having the Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV in the showrooms.

The niche Italian luxury brands had a tough February though with Maserati down 16.1% year-on-year after selling 47 cars while Ferrari lost 23.5% after producting 13 sales. Finally, for FCA, the Jeep brand was up 42.2% to 1,048 units last month.

After the first two months of the year Fiat has a total of 11,131 sales in France and is up 6.3% year-on-year. That performance comprehensively outpaces the overall market’s rise of 3.4% over the same period.

The Fiat brand’s top seller is the 500 with 3,459 units having been sold for the year-to-date followed by the 500X (2,414 units), Tipo (2,017 units) and Panda (1,463 units). Although not counted in the passenger car data, Fiat’s new Fullback pickup has totted up 141 sales in the first two months.

Alfa Romeo has 1,322 sales for the year-to-date and is up 27% over the same period last year, the fifth best performing brand in these year-on-year terms – and the fourth best if the nominal performance of the Chevrolet brand is discounted.

There’s a mixed picture for the niche luxury brands in France so far this year with Maserati up 4.4% after shifting 95 cars over the first two months while Ferrari’s sales are down by a quarter to 31 cars.

Finally, Jeep has 1,931 sales after two months, up 44.4% on the same period last year which makes it the best performer on theismarket in those terms. Its sales are split pretty evenly between the Renegade, with 977 units sold, and the Compass, which is on 902 units.