Italy 2003: Punto, Citroen C3, Seicento on top, new Panda arrives

Fiat Punto

* See the Top 10 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

The Italian car market is stable in 2003 at -1% with 2,328,621 registrations. No surprises on top, the Fiat Punto leads the way, but with 189,808 sales (-9%) and 8.2% share it is at its lowest level since the 1993 launch. The arrival of the facelifted model boosted sales for a while (9.5% in March) but never before has the Punto’s 1st place been so threatened than in August when it sold only 5,920 units (6.4%) vs. 5,260 for the Fiat Seicento.

Citroen C3

Up a massive 11 spots in 2nd place is the Citroen C3, which manages the interesting feat of ranking #2 in the Full Year without ever reaching that level monthly! Its best position was #3 in July and October. The Fiat Seicento finishes the year #3, up 5 spots and 7% at 75,710 sales. It was #2 an impressive 5 times this year.

Fiat Seicento

The big event of 2003 in Italy is the launch of the new generation Fiat Panda. The transition with the old model was very smooth, with the old gen Panda clearing up its stock (#2 in July and September, #3 in August) to allow the new gen to land directly in 2nd place in October with 8,032 sales and 4%. Both models add up to 92,693 sales this year, including 24,678 for the new gen.

Fiat Panda

Another replacement this year was the Lancia Y passing the relay to the Lancia Ypsilon and here too it has gone very well, with the Lancia Ypsilon breaking into the Top 10 at #10 (2.5%) in October and reaching an excellent 4th place (3.2%) in November.

Good year for the Ford Fiesta, up 7 spots to #4 with 3.2% and peaking at #2 in March with 4.4%, and for the Renault Clio, up 4 spots to #5. The Fiat Stilo wasn’t deemed a success but resists very well, up 1 spot to #6. It was even #3 for 3 months in May, June and September. The Toyota Yaris is #9 overall but reaches an amazing 2nd place in June (3.6%), obviously the best position ever reached by a Japanese model in Italy.

Previous year: Italy 2002: Fiat Punto, Panda and Ford Focus on podium

Next year: Italy 2004: Fiat Punto and Panda dominate, Lancia Ypsilon #4

Full Year 2003 and Every Monthly Top 10 Ranking Tables below.