April 2014 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles sales in Italy

The Italian auto market registered a 1.9% year-over-year increase for the month of April. Fiat brand sales were up 4.1%, continuing the positive trend recorded in February and March. Jeep brand posted a 58.8% increase. The Fiat Panda, Fiat 500L, Fiat 500, Fiat Punto and Lancia Ypsilon were the five best selling vehicles in Italy.

For the month of April, the Italian auto market was up 1.9% year-over-year with a total of more than 119,000 vehicles sold. The increase was below the March level (+5%) as consumers delayed purchases after the April 28th announcement that new eco-incentives would be introduced from the 6th of May. For the four months year-to-date, the market was 5.0% higher than the same period in 2013, with more than 496,000 vehicles sold.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles posted April sales of just over 34,500 vehicles, down 1.7% from the prior year. Contributing to the decrease was the decision by consumers interested in one of the Group’s CNG or LPG models to delay their purchase following announcement of the new eco-incentive program. Group market share increased 94 basis points over the March level to 29.04%, but was down 108 basis points from April last year. For the four months year-to-date, FCA’s Italian sales totaled more than 140,000 vehicles (+1.5%) and market share was 28.3% (-100 bps). Fiat brand posted April sales of nearly 26,700 vehicles, an increase of 4.1% over the prior year, with market share up 50 basis points to 22.4%. Year to date, sales totaled nearly 107,000 vehicles, with share down 30 basis points to 21.5%.
Panda was the overall volume leader in Italy with a 37.5% share of the A segment. The 500, also in the A segment, had a 22.7% share. The 500L continued to dominate its segment with a 60.4% share. The Punto led the B segment with a 13.7% share. And the Freemont remained the best selling vehicle in its segment with a 25.0% share.

Lancia posted April sales of more than 4,400 vehicles with market share at 3.7%. The year-over-year decline in both volumes and share reflected the brand’s decision to reduce its presence in the lower margin sales channels. For the year to date, sales were down to just under 20,000 vehicles compared with more than 21,000 vehicles for the same period in 2013. Brand market share for the period was 4% (-50 basis points).
The Ypsilon continued the positive trend of recent months, ranking second in the B segment. For the year to date, sales of the Ypsilon were up 12.9% to nearly 1,600 vehicles.

Alfa Romeo sold more than 2,700 vehicles in April (-6.6%) and posted a 2.3% market share (-20 basis points). For the year to date, sales totaled just over 10,800 units (-5.5%) and share was 20 basis points lower at 2.2%.
The MiTo continued to perform positively with share in the B segment remaining in excess of 2% driven primarily by sales of diesel models. Volumes for the Giulietta also benefited from demand for the LPG model.

Jeep posted April sales of more than 750 vehicles (+58.8% year-over-year) with market share increasing to 0.6%. Year-to-date, sales were just under 2,800 vehicles (+26.2% year-over-year) with market share increasing to 0.6%.
Underpinning those results was the Grand Cherokee, with April sales of more than 250 vehicles and a 21.5% segment share. The all-new Cherokee launched in mid-April has already begun generating strong orders.

Turin, 2 May 2014

More info at fiatspa.com