Fiat and Alfa Romeo Both Posted Strong Sales Gains in UK Last Month

Fiat and Alfa Romeo were both big sales winners in the UK in July as the new car market finally turned positive after 15 consecutive months of falling registrations, and although the total market gained just 2.4 percent, Fiat was up by 24.16 percent while Alfa Romeo climbed by an impressive 45.79 percent.

New car registrations in the UK rose 2.4 percent in July to 157,149 units. This was the first growth in 15 months, reflecting the positive impact of the scrappage incentive scheme. Registrations from private buyers and of small cars were up in July although the overall market is still down by almost 550,000 units over the past 12 months.

The Fiat brand sold 5,216 cars in the UK during July compared to 4,186 units during the same month last year and these totals added up to a 24.61 percent year-on-year rise. Fiat was able to successfully tap into the positive effects of the scrappage scheme which evident in growth seen in the small car sectors last month. A-segment registrations more than trebled in July, from 2008, while B-segment "supermini" volumes rose 15.7 percent to account for 37.5 percent of all registrations in the UK. The new 500C has also just gone on sale in the UK tapping into the fact that this market sustains Europe’s biggest demand for new cabriolet cars. This all meant that Fiat was able to raise it’s share of all sales in the UK for July year-on-year from 2.73 percent to 3.2 percent.

Alfa Romeo weighed in with 901 sales last month, compared to 618 in July 2008, which adds up to a hefty 45.79 percent year-on-year hike and increases its market share from 0.40 to 0.57 percent year-on-year during the seventh month of the year.

Source: Italiaspeed