Italy May 2013: Top 5 All-Italian for the first time in 16 years

Fiat 500L

* NOW UPDATED with actuals for the Top 50 models and Top 46 All-brands! See title *

Italian new car sales are down year-on-year for the 17th consecutive month at -8% to 136,711 registrations which brings the year-to-date total to 611,689 units, down 11% on 2012. Now this month we witness an interesting event that potentially hasn’t happened in 16 years. The 5 most popular models in Italy in May are all Italian! The Fiat Panda holds exactly the same market share this month as it does year-to-date at 8.3% thanks to 11,322 sales, and is followed by the Fiat Punto at 4.7% which is only the 6th time it ever dives below 5% market share in its 20 year-career after September 2008 (4.7%), August 2012 (4.6%), November 2012 (4.8%), October 2012 (4.7%) and February 2013 (4.4%)… The Fiat 500 and Lancia Ypsilon exchange positions compared to last month while the Fiat 500L is up 5 spots to round up the national Top 5 with a brilliant 4,560 units and 3.3%.

The last time this happened the Fiat Cinquecento was in 5th place …

The last time my records show a monthly Top 5 100% Italian at home was in June 1997 when the Fiat Punto ranked #1 ahead of the Fiat Bravo/Brava, Fiat Panda, Lancia Y and Fiat Cinquecento… However please note I don’t have absolutely all monthly rankings since then so this is not 100% certain. To add to this good Italian performance, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta is back within the Top 10 for the first time since last October, up 2 spots to #9 with 3,205 sales and 2.3%. It is a well-known trend that when times get really tough, some markets tend to go a little more patriotic than usual, and it seems this is what’s happening right now in Italy…

Citroen C3 Picasso

Benefitting from production hiccups in France for its sister the C3, the Citroen C3 Picasso amazingly breaks its Italian ranking, volume and market share records for the second month in a row, up a further 2 ranks to #14 with 2,203 sales and 1.6% share. Other great performers include the Dacia Sandero up 10 spots to an outstanding #17 at 1,855 units and 1.4%, the Renault Scenic up from outside the Top 50 in April to #22, the Audi A3 solid at #23, the Opel Meriva up 17 ranks to #24, the Opel Mokka up to #35 and the Hyundai i20 up to #43. Finally, notice the Renault Captur just missing out on breaking into the Top 50 at #53 with 690 sales.

Previous month: Italy April 2013: Citroen C3 Picasso and VW Up! at highest ever

One year ago: Italy May 2012: Citroen C3, Alfa Giulietta and Chevrolet Aveo shine

Full May 2013 Top 50 models and Top 46 All-brands Ranking Table below.