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Italy 1974-1978: Fiat 127 takes the lead, Fiat 131 on podium

January 9th, 1979 Leave a comment Go to comments

Fiat 127

* See the Top 10 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Thanks to Andrea and Miguel *

After two years spent in the shadow of the Fiat 128, the Fiat 127 becomes the best-selling model in Italy in 1974 and would stay at that position for 9 consecutive years, which is one year longer than the Fiat 600 and Fiat 500… The only official data I have over the 1974-1978 period in Italy is the 1977 year-end Top 10 and it shows the Fiat 128 still up to a valiant 2nd place then.

Fiat 131 Mirafiori

The Fiat 131 Mirafiori shines and manages to climb onto the podium that year, followed by the Fiat 126. The Alfa Romeo Alfasud is a success and jumps up to #5 in 1977 ahead of the Alfa Romeo Alfetta and Fiat 132. The Ford Fiesta is the best-selling foreign model at #9.

Thanks to the UNRAE team, I can now share with you the yearly Top 20 most produced models in Italy and Top 20 best-selling brands: see ‘Read more’. Notice Renault reaching 8% market share in 1976 to become the 2nd best-selling brand in the country, peaking at 97,004 sales – the highest volume ever for any foreign brand in Italy.

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Full Year 1977 Top 10 best-selling models and 1974-1978 Top 20 most produced below.

Italy Full Year 1977:

Pos Model 1977 1973 1972
1 Fiat 127 1 2 2
2 Fiat 128 2 1 1
3 Fiat 131 Mirafiori 3  -  -
4 Fiat 126 4 3 n/a
5 Alfa Romeo Alfasud 5 8 23
6 Alfa Romeo Alfetta 6 9 28
7 Fiat 132 7 16 16
8 Autobianchi A112 8 6 6
9 Ford Fiesta 9  -  -
10 Leyland-Innocenti Mini 10 7 5

Source: Quattroruote, many thanks to Miguel and Andrea for sharing the info!

Italy 1974 – most produced models:

Pos Model Production % 1973
1 Fiat 127 368,157 22.6% 2
2 Fiat 128 305,125 18.7% 1
3 Fiat 126 214,556 13.2% 3
4 Fiat 124 146,244 9.0% 4
5 Alfa Romeo Alfasud 100,000 6.1% 6
6 Autobianchi A112 99,091 6.1% 5
7 Fiat 132 75,139 4.6% 8
8 Leyland Innocenti Mini 52,736 3.2% 9
9 Fiat 500 46,712 2.9% 7
10 Alfa Romeo 1800 44,142 2.7% 10
11 Alfa Romeo 1300 27,404 1.7% 13
12 Lancia Beta 27,398 1.7% 12
13 Fiat X1/9 20,555 1.3% 17
14 Fiat 131 19,437 1.2%  -
15 Alfa Romeo 2000 19,354 1.2% 11
16 Alfa Romeo 1600 17,251 1.1% 14
17 Lancia Fulvia 14,894 0.9% 15
18 Autobianchi Bianchina 9,223 0.6% 18
19 Fiat 850 7,091 0.4% 16
20 Fiat 130 1,854 0.1% 20

Italy 1974:

Pos Brand Sales % 1973
1 Fiat 690,068 53.9% 1
2 Alfa Romeo 93,520 7.3% 2
3 Renault 81,212 6.3% 4
4 Autobianchi 76,682 6.0% 3
5 Simca 56,687 4.4% 5
6 Citroen 53,358 4.2% 6
7 Opel 39,032 3.0% 8
8 Ford 37,795 3.0% 7
9 Leyland Innocenti 34,228 2.7% 9
10 Lancia 27,996 2.2% 10
11 VW 23,844 1.9% 11
12 Peugeot 22,599 1.8% 12
13 BMW 11,661 0.9% 14
14 Mercedes 9,926 0.8% 15
15 Audi 3,608 0.3% 16
16 DAF 2,934 0.2% 17
17 Skoda 2,797 0.2% 18
18 Sunbeam 1,697 0.1% 19
19 Rover 1,465 0.1% 22
20 Volvo 1,399 0.1% 20

Italy 1975 – most produced models:

Pos Model Production % 1974
1 Fiat 127 253,976 18.8% 1
2 Fiat 128 203,651 15.1% 2
3 Fiat 131 201,778 15.0% 14
4 Fiat 126 163,881 12.2% 3
5 Alfa Romeo Alfasud 92,680 6.9% 5
6 Autobianchi A112 67,043 5.0% 6
7 Fiat 132 54,677 4.1% 7
8 Alfa Romeo Alfetta 52,806 3.9%  -
9 Lancia Beta 38,866 2.9% 12
10 Alfa Romeo Giulia 33,599 2.5%  -
11 Leyland Innocenti Mini 32,434 2.4% 8
12 Fiat 500 25,337 1.9% 9
13 Fiat 124 25,324 1.9% 4
14 Fiat X1/9 17,353 1.3% 13
15 Alfa Romeo 2000 10,274 0.8% 15
16 Lancia Fulvia 6,448 0.5% 17
17 Fiat 850 5,786 0.4% 19
18 Autobianchi Bianchina 4,304 0.3% 18
19 Fiat Campagnola 1,994 0.1% 23
20 Fiat 130 709 0.1% 20

Italy 1975:

Pos Brand Sales % 1974
1 Fiat 510,944 48.6% 1
2 Alfa Romeo 96,818 7.6% 2
3 Renault 66,793 5.2% 3
4 Autobianchi 59,201 4.6% 4
5 Simca 57,385 4.5% 5
6 Citroen 45,533 3.6% 6
7 VW 34,325 2.7% 11
8 Opel 31,781 2.5% 7
9 Ford 29,390 2.3% 8
10 Leyland Innocenti 28,410 2.2% 9
11 Lancia 24,413 1.9% 10
12 Peugeot 20,732 1.6% 12
13 BMW 15,279 1.2% 13
14 Mercedes 10,183 0.8% 14
15 Audi 5,421 0.4% 15
16 Skoda 3,030 0.2% 17
17 DAF 2,036 0.2% 16
18 Volvo 1,677 0.1% 20
19 Rover 1,372 0.1% 19
20 Matra 693 0.1% 24

Italy 1976 – most produced models:

Pos Model Production % 1975
1 Fiat 127 306,062 20.8% 1
2 Fiat 128 264,784 18.0% 2
3 Fiat 131 251,291 17.1% 3
4 Fiat 126 175,655 11.9% 4
5 Alfa Romeo Alfasud 92,961 6.3% 5
6 Autobianchi A112 86,850 5.9% 6
7 Alfa Romeo Alfetta 81,551 5.5% 8
8 Lancia Beta 59,830 4.1% 9
9 Fiat 132 53,877 3.7% 7
10 Alfa Romeo Giulia 22,080 1.5% 10
11 Fiat X1/9 15,783 1.1% 14
12 Fiat 124 11,820 0.8% 13
13 Autobianchi Bianchina 7,024 0.5% 18
14 Fiat 850 4,559 0.3% 17
15 Alfa Romeo 2000 4,530 0.3% 15
16 Lancia Fulvia 2,847 0.2% 16
17 Fiat Campagnola 2,299 0.2% 19
18 Fiat 900 1,476 0.1%  -
19 Lancia Gamma 670 0.0%  -
20 Fiat 130 577 0.0% 20

Italy 1976:

Pos Brand Sales % 1975
1 Fiat 552,757 46.5% 1
2 Renault 94,851 8.0% 3
3 Alfa Romeo 92,259 7.8% 2
4 Simca 65,834 5.5% 5
5 Citroen 59,413 5.0% 6
6 Autobianchi 56,463 4.8% 4
7 Opel 55,902 4.7% 8
8 Ford 47,085 4.0% 9
9 VW 41,111 3.5% 7
10 Lancia 28,058 2.4% 11
11 Peugeot 26,988 2.3% 12
12 Nuova Innocenti 16,104 1.4% 10
13 BMW 16,086 1.4% 13
14 Mercedes 11,051 0.9% 14
15 Audi 5,339 0.4% 15
16 Volvo 3,066 0.3% 18
17 Skoda 2,667 0.2% 16
18 DAF 1,397 0.1% 17
19 Morris 1,050 0.1% n/a
20 Vauxhall-Bedford 1,023 0.1% n/a

Italy 1977 – most produced models:

Pos Model Production % 1976
1 Fiat 127 333,795 23.2% 1
2 Fiat 128 237,491 16.5% 2
3 Fiat 126 205,152 14.2% 4
4 Fiat 131 166,871 11.6% 3
5 Alfa Romeo Alfasud 98,293 6.8% 5
6 Alfa Romeo Alfetta 73,573 5.1% 7
7 Fiat 132 72,678 5.0% 9
8 Autobianchi A112 69,974 4.9% 6
9 Lancia Beta 56,463 3.9% 8
10 Innocenti Mini 38,120 2.6% n/a
11 Fiat X1/9 18,450 1.3% 11
12 Fiat 124 14,008 1.0% 12
13 Alfa Romeo Giulia 11,688 0.8% 10
14 Lancia Coupe 8,469 0.6% n/a
15 Alfa Romeo Giulietta 7,390 0.5% n/a
16 Alfa Romeo 1300 7,281 0.5% n/a
17 Fiat 900 6,243 0.4% 18
18 Lancia Gamma 4,012 0.3% 19
19 Alfa Romeo 2000 3,566 0.2% 15
20 Autobianchi Bianchina 2,730 0.2% 13

Italy 1977:

Pos Brand Sales % 1976
1 Fiat 594,429 48.8% 1
2 Renault 97,004 8.0% 2
3 Alfa Romeo 80,304 6.6% 3
4 Ford 70,591 5.8% 8
5 Citroen 66,014 5.4% 5
6 Autobianchi 54,635 4.5% 6
7 Simca 52,714 4.3% 4
8 Opel 40,379 3.3% 7
9 VW 38,251 3.1% 9
10 Lancia 25,601 2.1% 10
11 Peugeot 24,921 2.0% 11
12 Nuova Innocenti 20,824 1.7% 12
13 BMW 15,761 1.3% 13
14 Mercedes 11,869 1.0% 14
15 Volvo 3,273 0.3% 16
16 Audi 3,197 0.3% 15
17 Austin 2,887 0.2% n/a
18 Skoda 2,578 0.2% 17
19 Zaz 2,035 0.2% n/a
20 Vauxhall-Bedford 1,875 0.2% 20

Italy 1978 – most produced models:

Pos Model Production % 1977
1 Fiat 127 361,286 23.9% 1
2 Fiat 131 204,962 13.6% 4
3 Fiat 126 167,535 11.1% 3
4 Fiat 128 135,012 8.9% 2
5 Fiat Ritmo 108,411 7.2%  -
6 Alfa Romeo Alfasud 105,953 7.0% 5
7 Fiat 132 93,389 6.2% 7
8 Autobianchi A112 89,436 5.9% 8
9 Alfa Romeo Giulietta 58,066 3.8% 15
10 Alfa Romeo Alfetta 51,504 3.4% 6
11 Lancia Beta 42,800 2.8% 9
12 Innocenti Mini 40,719 2.7% 10
13 Fiat X1/9 19,240 1.3% 11
14 Fiat 124 16,079 1.1% 12
15 Lancia Gamma 6,399 0.4% 18
16 Fiat 900 4,448 0.3% 17
17 Lancia Coupe 3,263 0.2% 14
18 Fiat Campagnola 2,844 0.2% 21

Italy 1978:

Pos Brand Sales % 1977
1 Fiat 549,914 46.0% 1
2 Renault 96,043 8.0% 2
3 Alfa Romeo 87,037 7.3% 3
4 Citroen 65,014 5.4% 5
5 Ford 64,064 5.4% 4
6 Autobianchi 61,767 5.2% 6
7 Opel 48,983 4.1% 8
8 Simca 47,462 4.0% 7
9 VW 41,613 3.5% 9
10 Nuova Innocenti 27,984 2.3% 12
11 Peugeot 24,010 2.0% 11
12 Lancia 22,000 1.8% 10
13 BMW 17,930 1.5% 13
14 Mercedes 9,951 0.8% 14
15 Volvo 4,049 0.3% 15
16 Austin 3,101 0.3% 17
17 Seat 3,010 0.3% 21
18 Audi 3,005 0.3% 16
19 Skoda 2,744 0.2% 18
20 Vauxhall-Bedford 2,430 0.2% 20

Source: ANFIA, many thanks to the UNRAE team for opening up your archives!

Categories: Italy
  1. Miguel Figueira
    September 9th, 2011 at 19:38 | #1
    Reply | Quote

    My pleasure Matt.
    I just read in a Italian magazine called Quattroruote from January 1978.
    In the seventies and eighties Italians cars were quite popular all over the world. Alfa romeo had assembly plants in South Africa were assembled the 1750/2000 berlina, Giulia super, Giulia Coupé bertone, Alfasud, called Alfa Export there, Alfetta berlina and Giulietta. In malasya Alfa had an assembly plant too with 3 models, the giulia super, Alfasud hatch and Alfetta. Lancia assembled the Beta Coupé and HPE in South Africa, Spain and Thailand in small numbers and Fiat had assembly and production plants in South Africa, Egypt, Thailand, Tanzania, Malasya, Argentina, Brazil, Lybia, Morocco…

    • matgasnier
      September 9th, 2011 at 20:46 | #2
      Reply | Quote

      Great thanks Miguel.
      Any more data from that period in Italy? I am updating my Historical posts for Italy so anything you have at all, even if it’s a random monthly ranking or not a year-end ranking, please send it my way!!!
      Thank you very much for your continued support.
      Matt

  2. Miguel Figueira
    September 9th, 2011 at 17:22 | #3
    Reply | Quote

    I had the information that in 1977 the Fiat 127 was the best selling car in Italy followed by the Fiat 128, Fiat 131 Mirafiori, Fiat 126, Alfa Romeo Alfasud, Alfa Romeo Alfetta, Fiat 132, Autobianchi A112, Ford Fiesta MKI and Innocenti Mini Mille.

    • matgasnier
      September 9th, 2011 at 19:00 | #4
      Reply | Quote

      Hi Miguel,
      Thank you very much for this info! I will write a post about it shortly. Could you let me know what the source of the data is please?
      Thank you
      Matt

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