Stellantis: the Italian market is driving the recovery, with the Fiat brand leading the way
In the domestic market, a quarter of the increase in new car registrations recorded across Europe in the first half of the year – the Fiat Grande Panda and Citroën C3 are driving sales volumes
Exactly one year ago, the Italian market accounted for almost 250,000 cars produced by Stellantis in the first half of the year. In 2026, volumes exceeded 265,000 units, driving the recovery in Europe with over 15,000 more registrations. Over a quarter of the 55,000 registrations gained by Stellantis in the region (the EU, plus EFTA and the UK) up to June – more than Volkswagen managed – therefore came from the domestic market. This is, however, merely a recovery, because to turn the tide and return to 2024 volumes, the figures achieved in the first half of the year will need to be doubled, both in Italia and across Europe.
It was Fiat itself – the Group’s brand that is now recording the strongest recovery, with double-digit month-on-month growth – that paid the highest price in terms of registrations during the final phase of former CEO Carlos Tavares’s tenure; this growth was seen both in Italia – up 27.2 per cent last June, +29.2% for the first half of the year – and in the EU (including EFTA and the UK), +33.5% and +28.7%. Fiat, alongside Citroën and Opel, is leading the recovery in sales volumes across Europe, whilst the frontrunner, Peugeot – the brand with the highest sales volumes, holding around a 5 per cent market share, in the pipeline alongside the strongest brands after Volkswagen – from Audi to Renault, via Mercedes, not forgetting Toyota – is struggling more and recorded a 3.8 per cent decline in the first half of the year, despite a positive performance (+8.9 per cent) in June.
Sales volumes in Europe have been influenced by the Group’s more aggressive strategy in the A, B and C segments; from a manufacturing perspective, this commercial strategy has resulted in a strong push for the Smart Car platform – installed at plants in Serbia, Spain, Poland and Morocco, amongst others – which is used to produce, amongst other things, models including the Grande Panda, the Citroën C3 and C3 Aircross, and Fiat’s latest addition, the Grizzly, which is manufactured at the Kenitra plant in Morocco.
This is an industry trend that is, in fact, affecting the Group’s Italian plants, where the recovery in output – with more than a third of production volumes on the rise during the half-year, according to the latest report from Fim Cisl – is driven primarily by the Jeep Compass production line at Melfi and, to some extent, the second Fiat 500 hybrid model at Mirafiori, which does not appear to be meeting estimated volumes, with the historic plant closed for holidays until 24 August – four weeks rather than the two initially indicated – following several days of production stoppages due to falling orders. However, the company has committed to retaining the 400 agency workers until December.
The new phase for the Fiat 500 family has a medium- to long-term outlook; it appears to look beyond the ‘Fastlane 2030’ business plan presented in May by CEO Antonio Filosa. The brand’s future, however, could be shaped by the industrial decisions Stellantis makes regarding its new electric cars – which, according to the Group’s chief executive, Emanuele Cappellano, are to be produced at the Pomigliano and Mirafiori plants – and thus return to the forefront.
