Italy sales rise, Fiat Chrysler still loses

No, the big winners were the French.

While Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) retained its Italian number-one status, it lost huge chunks of market share to its cross-border rivals as Italians bought 157,900 cars, up 7.1 percent, in October.

Buoyed by the extra numbers of its newly-acquired German brand, Opel, PSA sales jumped 18 percent as a group. Citroen lead the way, leaping 42 percent, while Peugeot rode new SUV offerings to a 17-percent rise and Opel recovered with 6.6-percent growth.

It is now the second-largest automotive group on the Italian market, overtaking the Volkswagen Group, but its compatriot Renault also kicked on hard. Its namesake brand cranked up another 28 percent and its budget Dacia outfit boomed 48 percent.

Instead of matching the French, FCA fell 0.8 percent, despite sales of the decidedly un-Italian Jeep side of the family jumping 47 percent in sales and Alfa rising 10 percent on the back of the Giulia and Stelvio.

The volume Fiat brand fell 4.4 percent, while dead-brand walking Lancia crumbled 18 percent, pushing FCA’s market share down two percent to 26.25 percent.

Despite falling to number three in Italy, the Volkswagen Group saw Seat and Skoda both grow at 20 percent, while the Volkswagen brand only picked up 1.7 percent to effectively lose market share.

It wasn’t all good news for Renault, though, with alliance partner Nissan dropping 4.7 percent as arch-rival Toyota gained 23 percent. The Hyundai Motor Group piled in, too, with Hyundai up 17 percent and Kia rising 11 percent.

It wasn’t a premium month for premium brands, though, with Audi and Mercedes-Benz posting modest growth, while BMW fell 13 percent.

Unlike Germany and France, Italy’s diesel share has remained strong, partly due to no major assaults on the fuel’s continued acceptance in Italian cities. While the continent’s two major economies have seen the share of diesel sales fall to just over a third, 55.5 percent of Italians still preferred diesel power in their new cars.