Italy June 2012: Lancia Delta and Toyota Yaris @ highest in 3 years

Lancia Delta

* NOW UPDATED with actuals for the Top 50 best-selling models! Click on title to see *

New car sales in Italy are falling into a downward spiral, down 24% year-on-year in June to 128,967 registrations. This means the market is down a full 20% or 201,172 units to 817,987 halfway through the year… The new generation Fiat Panda bucks the trend and celebrates its 6th consecutive month atop the models ranking, up 5% year-on-year to 10,933 sales and an excellent 8.5% share and stable year-to-date at 65,317 units and 8%. It is only the second time in the Panda nameplate’s 32 years that it manages to hold the Italian pole position 6 months in a row after a first stint from August 2008 to January 2009. One more month and it will be a record…

Fiat Panda

For the Fiat Punto, best-seller in Italy from 1994 to 2011, it’s a totally different story: its sales are down 34% year-on-year in June to 7,993 units and 32% year-to-date to 48,744. It is now two full percentage points below the Panda in the year-to-date ranking at 6% share and any possibility of the Punto claiming the title of best-selling car in Italy for an 19th consecutive year is now very remote. The Fiat 500 ranks third with 3.4% share, making the podium 100% Fiat for the 2nd time in a row and only the third time in the last 12 months with July 2011.

In fact, with the Fiat 500 now ranking #4 year-to-date ahead of the Ford Fiesta, the entire Top 4 YTD models are 100% Italian. If this stays the same until the end of the year it would be the first time it happens since 2000 when the Fiat Punto led the way ahead of the Fiat Seicento, Lancia Y and Fiat Panda…

Toyota Yaris

Up 7 spots on May to #6 with 2,837 sales and 2.2%, the Toyota Yaris reaches its highest position in Italy since October 2009. The Alfa Romeo Giulietta stays extremely solid at #7 for the third month in a row, while the Peugeot 208 is up 28 ranks to land #13 at 2,077 units and 1.6%. Within the Top 20, notice also the Renault Megane up 2 spots to #17, the Fiat Freemont up to #18, its highest since last September and the Lancia Delta up 16 ranks to #20, its highest since August 2009…

Further down, the BMW 3 Series is up 14 spots to #29, the VW Up! is up to #31 with 1,013 units and 0.8%, the Opel Zafira is back in the Top 50, up 17 ranks to #35, the Fiat Bravo is out of it for the first time since this generation launched in 2007, down 17 to #52 whereas the Range Rover Evoque gets close to it at #59 with 677 sales and 0.5%, #3 in the 4WD ranking behind the VW Tiguan and BMW X3…

Previous month: Italy May 2012: Fiat Panda hits highest share in 3 years

One year ago: Italy June 2011: Fiat Punto back to #1, new gen Lancia Ypsilon #5

Full June 2012 Top 50 Ranking Table below.