Italy First Half 2019: Dacia Duster shoots up to #4, T-Roc is VW’s best-seller at #8 in market down -3.8%

The Dacia Duster is up 62.4% in a market down -3.8%.

31/07/2019 update: Now with the Top 180 best-selling models.

New car sales in Italy drop -3.8% over the First Half of 2018 to 1.086.224 units when stable private and rental sales can’t compensate for freefalling company sales. Private sales edge up 0.6% to 609.814 units and 56.1% share vs. 53.7% over the same period last year, going against a European trend of less private buyers. Thanks to strong showings in May (+22.1%) and June (+12.6%), rental sales tilt into positive at +0.8% to 300.826 and 27.7% share vs. 26.4% in H1 2018, with short-term rentals up 4% to 118.635 and leases down -0.7% to 161.700. In contrast, company sales skid down -21.6% to 175.584 and 16.2% share vs. 19.8% last year. Petrol sales finally upend diesel registrations, making Italy one of the last European countries to do so at +24.5% to 470.318 vs. -23.9% to 463.495, GPL is up 5.3% to 72.582, hybrid up 30.2% to 58.017 and EVs up 120.2% to a still tiny 4.967 and 0.5% share.

Homegrown brand leader Fiat continues to suffer from the almost exclusive focus put on the Jeep and Ram brands by FCA – and this even at home. Hampered by a new all-time low share of 13.5% in June, Fiat is down another catastrophic -14.9% over the First Half of 2018 to 15.8% share, that’s a full two percentage points below its level of last year, however it’s not the lowest Half-year share hit by Fiat as it came down to 15.6% over H2 2018. Lifted by its new small SUV lineup, Volkswagen (+2.5%) scores the only gain among the Top 5 brands, with Peugeot (-0.2%) resisting but Ford (-12.4%) and Renault (-11%) falling off. Dacia (+42%) is the one outstanding carmaker in the Italian market over the period, scoring the largest progression among the Top 28 brands, with Opel (+7.9%), Citroen (+3%) and Toyota (+2.9%) also strong in the Top 10 and Jeep (-2.1%) just outpacing the market to remain in the Top 10. Tesla (+372.2%), Mahindra (+171%), DR Motor (+165.2%), Lamborghini (+85.5%), Mitsubishi (+79.5%), Lexus (+57.2%), DS (+35.9%), Lancia (+27.7%), Volvo (+20.8%), Ferrari (+20.2%), Seat (+17%) and Suzuki (+15.3%) also shine further down.

The VW T-Roc has become the brand’s best-seller in Italy.

Model-wise, as the Italian market becomes more and more fragmented with only two nameplates above 3% share, the ranking is completely reshuffled from one year to the next. The Fiat Panda (+18.6%) and Lancia Ypsilon (+27.7%) are completely unaffected by their manufacturers’ misfortunes and roll on the sales like there’s no tomorrow. The Renault Clio (-3.9%) limits its fall and stays on the podium but the hero of the year so far is without a doubt the Dacia Duster (+62.4%) leaping up 16 spots vs. H1 2018 and 17 vs. FY2018 to land at a stunning 4th place, well above its level “at home” in France. In just one year and thanks to the new generation, the Duster thus goes from #7 to #1 SUV in Italy, leapfrogging past the Fiat 500X (-20.7%), Jeep Renegade (-0.4%), Compass (-5.7%), Renault Captur (-0.1%), Nissan Qashqai (-15.3%) and VW Tiguan (-28.2%).

The other main event atop the Italian models ranking in this First Half  2019 is the consecration of the T-Roc (+104.7%) as Volkswagen’s best-seller in the country, up 18 spots year-on-year to #8, sanctioning 6 consecutive Top 10 finishes this year. The Polo (-11.2%) and most spectacularly Golf (-31.8%) both dive, but the T-Roc’s success might be short-lived as the new T-Cross is already making waves in the Italian charts, cracking the Tp 20 for its third month in market in June and pointing its bonnet at #49 in H1. Other notable in-shape nameplates in 2019 so far include the Hyundai Kona (+56.1%), Opel Karl (+51%) snapping its first Top 10 finish in June, the Mercedes A-Class (+32.9%), Kia Picanto (+27.4%), Dacia Sandero (+25.9%), Opel Crossland X (+20.5%), Ford Focus (+20%), Renault Kadjar (+15.8%) and Ford Ecosport (+10.6%). The Fiat Panda (63.892) is the best-selling petrol model, the Jeep Compass (17.859) the best-selling diesel, the Dacia Duster (11.856) the best-selling GPL, the Toyota Yaris (14.672) the best-selling hybrid ahead of the C-HR (9.265), RAV4 (5.660) and Corolla (3.936) and the Renault Zoe (1.335) the best-selling EV above the Tesla Model 3 (958), Smart Fortwo (707) and Nissan Leaf (560).

Previous post: Italy June 2019: Fiat falls to lowest ever share (13.5%), Dacia surges, Jeep Renegade up to record #2

One year ago: Italy First Half 2018: Fiat and Lancia sink, Jeep doubles sales

Full H1 2019 Top 45 All-brands and Top 180 models below.