Italy, car market falls by 10 per cent and goes into negative territory
Since January, volumes down 0.2%. Fiat's difficulties continued, at -41% for the month and -16% since the beginning of the year. Alfa, Lancia and Jeep also down
2' min read
2' min read
Another month of slowdown for the car market in Italy, with registrations in November down 10.8% year-on-year to 124,251 cars. The final balance for the first eleven months of the year closed with 1.452,973 registrations and a drop of 0.2% compared to the same period last year. The car market is therefore veering into negative territory and aims to end the year below the threshold reached in 2023 and with a gap of more than 18% compared to the pre-Covid phase.
The outlook for 2025 does not appear positive, predicts Centro Studi Promotor. The monthly economic survey conducted by the Study Centre headed by Gian Primo Quagliano at the end of November shows that only 5% of dealers expect sales to rise in the coming months, while 37% expect stability at current low levels and 58% expect a drop in registrations.
Against this backdrop, the volume crisis on the market for the Stellantis brands continues, starting with Fiat, which registered 8,700 cars in November compared to 15,000 in the same month of 2023, surpassed by Toyota/Lexus and Volkswagen. The historic Italian brand, which recorded a 41% drop in the month - down 16% since the beginning of the year - also suffered from the halt in sales of the Fiat 500 with a thermic engine, the slowdown of the electric model and the long lead time for the development of the hybrid version. Jeep (-14.7%), Lancia and Alfa Romeo also fell, while the French brands fared better.
At Volkswagen, the main brand held its ground, posting 1,500 registrations more than in the same period of 2023, Seat volumes halved, and Audi posted a negative month but grew by 2.5% since the start of the year. The Renault Group, led by Luca De Meo, recorded an 11% increase in volumes for its Renault and Dacia brands from January to November, against weak registrations last month.
Toyota is among the major players the one that performs best as it registers a 25% increase in volumes since the beginning of the year, against Tesla, which reduced its registrations for the month to a third compared to November 2023. Among the emerging players, only MG is growing, with 35% more registrations since the beginning of the year.
