Italy 1967-1968: Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Innocenti dominate, NSU Prinz #1 foreigner in record market

January 3, 1969
Matt Gasnier
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Alfa Romeo is the #2 carmaker in Italy all through the 1960s.

In 1967, the Italian new car market progresses at the same rate as in 1966: +14.5% to a new record 1.162.246 registrations, its second ever millionaire year. Fiat sees its share thaw slightly to a still gigantic 73.2%, distancing Alfa Romeo at 4.6%, Innocenti at 3.9%, Lancia at 3.1% and Autobianchi at 2.6%, making the Top 5 brands 100% Italian for the 2nd year running. NSU Prinz soars 3 spots to #6 to become the most popular foreign carmaker above Simca, Opel and Renault. Honda sells its very first 5 units in Italy, the first ever Japanese manufacturer to do so.

New car sales in Italy reach a plateau in 1968 with a tiny +0.5% gain to 1.167.614 units, nevertheless a third consecutive all-time record. Fiat drops over five percentage points of market share on 1967 but still represents more than 2 out of 3 passenger cars sold in the country at 67.8% of the market, its lowest since 1963. In contrast, Alfa Romeo (5.6%), Innocenti (4.4%) and Autobianchi (3.9%) all get a boost, while NSU Prinz breaks into the Top 5 brands for the first time, dislodging Lancia (#6). Simca, Opel, Renault and Volkswagen also make it into the Top 10, Honda sells 10 units.

Full Year 1967 and 1968 Top 20 brands rankings below.

Italy 1967 – brands:

Pos	Brand	Sales	%	1966
1	Fiat	850,929	73.2%	1
2	Alfa Romeo	53,962	4.6%	2
3	Innocenti	45,067	3.9%	3
4	Lancia	36,141	3.1%	4
5	Autobianchi	30,229	2.6%	5
6	NSU Prinz	27,749	2.4%	9
7	Simca	27,122	2.3%	7
8	Opel	23,379	2.0%	6
9	Renault	18,826	1.6%	8
10	VW	14,454	1.2%	10
11	Ford Germany	8,967	0.8%	11
12	Citroen	4,491	0.4%	14
13	Mercedes Benz	3,458	0.3%	13
14	Peugeot	2,829	0.2%	15
15	BMW	2,822	0.2%	17
16	Ford UK	2,527	0.2%	16
17	Osi – Ford	2,032	0.2%	12
18	DAF	1,863	0.2%	18
19	Porsche	807	0.1%	19
20	Auto Union-DKW	604	0.1%	22
	Abarth	369	0.0%	21
	Morris	306	0.0%	20
	Honda	5	0.0%

Italy 1968 – brands:

Pos	Brand	Sales	%	1967
1	Fiat	791,574	67.8%	1
2	Alfa Romeo	65,743	5.6%	2
3	Innocenti	51,471	4.4%	3
4	Autobianchi	45,106	3.9%	5
5	NSU Prinz	39,508	3.4%	6
6	Lancia	33,769	2.9%	4
7	Opel	31,281	2.7%	8
8	Simca	30,805	2.6%	7
9	Renault	20,169	1.7%	9
10	VW	15,024	1.3%	10
11	Ford Germany	12,667	1.1%	11
12	Citroen	8,749	0.7%	12
13	Mercedes Benz	4,261	0.4%	13
14	BMW	3,729	0.3%	15
15	Peugeot	3,232	0.3%	14
16	DAF	2,132	0.2%	18
17	Auto Union	1,140	0.1%	20
18	Porsche	1,024	0.1%	19
19	Osi – Ford	897	0.1%	17
20	Ford UK	881	0.1%	16
	Morris	523	0.0%	22
	Skoda	507	0.0%
	Maserati	424	0.0%
	Lamborghini	161	0.0%
	Honda	10	0.0%