Italy February 2015: Opel Mokka and Smart Forfour break records

The Smart Forfour breaks into the Italian Top 20 in February.

* UPDATED with actuals – See the Top 45 All-brands and Top 50 models *

It is finally the end of the tunnel for the Italian new car market: after gaining 11% in January, sales are up an even more impressive 13% in February to 135,559 registrations, which brings the year-to-date total to 268,539 units, up 12% on 2014. If Fiat (+6%) and Volkswagen (-3%) underperform atop the brands ranking, 5 of the next 7 brands in the charts display explosive growth: Ford is up 24% to 7% share at #3, followed by Renault up 46% and Opel up 31% while Nissan is up 58% to #8, Lancia is up 18% to #9 and Peugeot is closer to the market at +14% to #6. Further down, notice Alfa Romeo and Dacia both up 19%, Hyundai up 27%, Volvo up 42%, Mitsubishi up 66%, Porsche up 70%, Lexus up 83% and Jeep up 4-fold on February 2014 thanks to the Renegade, delivering another outstanding 18th place this month.

The Opel Mokka lifts its Italian ranking record to #11.

In the models ranking, the Fiat Panda remains sovereign at 7.2% share despite sales down 2% on January 2014, and is followed by the Fiat 500L (+32%), Lancia Ypsilon (+27%), Fiat Punto (-26%) and Fiat 500 (+12%), making the Top 5 100% Italian. The Renault Clio is the best-selling foreigner once again, improving by 21% and dominating the Ford Fiesta and VW Polo. The Opel Mokka misses a historical Top 10 ranking by 209 sales, improving its Italian ranking record to #11 (previous best: #12 last October). The Nissan Qashqai (+29%), Renault Captur (+89%), Alfa Romeo Giulietta (+60%) and Dacia Duster (+36%) all deliver very strong performances in Italy this month.

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer

Further down, the new generation Smart Forfour is up a splendid 18 spots on January to brilliantly crack the Top 20 at #19 with 1,680 sales and seems to have cannibalised the Fortwo so far, in great difficulty at #46 (-62%). The Fiat 500X is up two spots to a best-ever #21 with 1,612 sales and 1.2%, surprisingly still below its platform buddy the Jeep Renegade (#18), the Ford Ecosport is very solid again at #32, the Renault Twingo is up 13 spots on last month to #35 and the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer smashes its ranking record at #41 thanks to 967 units sold vs. just 783 for its rival the Mercedes B-Class…

Previous month: Italy January 2015: Fiat 500X lands at #23

One year ago: Italy February 2014: Fiat Panda hits highest share in one year

Full February 2015 Top 45 All-brands and Top 50 models below.