Category Archives: Sales

by - 11 Comments

Italian car market sinks. Fiat Group down 24%

Photo by 500blog

September 2012 was again a terrible month for Italian car market, down a massive 25,7%, the biggest fall since March 2012. Italians bought 37.000 cars less than one year ago, 44.000 less than two years ago, and 80.000 units less than in September 2009. That’s why specialized press has constantly said that there is a demotorizzazione of the market, which means that Italians are not buying cars as they used to since late 60’s till 5 years ago. Partly because of current European economic situation and partly because those years in which Italian government helped people to buy cars are gone. Fiat is part of the problem and the solution, but this time it seems it will have to do more by itself than with Italian support. In September the whole group sold 24,2% less than one year ago, again a bit better than total market. Fiat gained more market share while some of its main competitors contributed to a deepest fall of the market: Ford (-38%), Opel (-34%), Citroen (-32%) and Renault (-38%). In the other hand, VW was down only 13%, and Peugeot -5%. But the fact that there are other losing more market than Fiat does not mean that the situation of the Italian group is not bad. Certainly a double-digit fall is a worrying issue because it means that there is no such big market they had in mind when they built the factories all over Italy. Of course first victims of this disaster are new models that required a big investment for its development and now they don’t find the clients. Old models can do it better from the point of view of profits as their development costs are already amortized. Obviously less innovation means less sales, so the key is to find the right scenario for investment, innovation and sales.

Sales figures and variation for September 2012/2011. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net and UNRAE

Fiat brand was down 23% due to the Punto and surprisingly the Freemont, which was down a massive 53%. It is the first time it happens with this Crossover, as it was having very good results since its launch last year. There are two possible reasons: the first one could be the beginning of decline period of the Freemont as it was not an all-new model when it was introduced. And the second one, more feasible, is the emerge of new Fiat 500L, which had its first complete month in the dealerships. Last month 938 Fiat 500L were sold in Italy, 29 more units than Fiat Freemont. The Freemont sells around 1.500 units per month. Though they are not direct rivals, as the 500L belongs to ‘B-MPV’ segment while the Freemont is a ”D-MPV’ and their prices are quite far away from each others, it all seems that the new 500 MPV got some sales figures of its bigger brother. At the end most of Freemont’s offer is composed by 5 seats with diesel engines, which is pretty much what the 500L offers: 5 seats with lots of efficient diesel engines, and during this difficult times, some families would choose the cheapest option, no matter the big difference there is between them. Lancia’s sales figures dropped 26% because of the big fall of the Ypsilon, down 40%! Why a new car as the Ypsilon is having such bad results? car sales per segment indicate that ‘B-Segment’ is the most affected one with current crisis as the few people who buys a car are not looking for the traditional 5 door compact hatchback but for cheaper ones no matter the car is smaller. The Ypsilon is part of that change. Alfa Romeo sold 24% less, which is not bad at all as it depends on only 2 models, one of them extremely competitive but the other one far away from that denomination. The Giulietta continues to impress no matter the great power the VW Golf has in Italy and the new competitors coming from Germany. There is no doubt that Alfa Romeo guys must be really worried about coming months when the new generation of VW Golf will arrive. Jeep has the worst result, down an impressive 59%. It seems the new Grand Cherokee can not do it by itself and the lack of modern ‘C-SUV’ offer affects considerably Jeep’s total registrations. Ferrari was down 52% and Maserati -55%.

Italy car sales by segment A, B and C. (e) for estimated. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net, UNRAE

938 Fiat 500L were sold in September. It allowed it to be the second best-selling small MPV in Italy. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net

 

 

Click here to see Italy October 2012 results

Click here to see Italy August 2012 results

by - 9 Comments

Fiat in trouble. VW Up! hits the market

Fiat is in trouble, big trouble. It is not only a matter of its home market, Italy, or the delay in plans for new products. The problems with its factories and Fabbrica Italia are just some more to the latest one. What used to be the main strength of the group is now being hit hard by Europe’s largest car maker. VW is having great results with its trio Up!/Mii/Citigo and it means that Fiat is feeling the success of the Slovaks with less sales figures for its couple 500/Panda. Last month is the best example as sales figures for the Italian couple drop while the VW trio seems not to feel the crisis. As I have done it during the last months, the analysis takes into account the sales figures for Fiat 500 and Panda vs. the trio together, Up!, Mii and Citigo, as they are the same car. The analysis includes the countries where there is data available every month: the largest markets, Germany, France, Italy and Spain (except the UK) plus Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, Romania and Greece. 16 countries that can tell a lot about sales trend of these small cars. Due to lack of data important markets as the UK, Belgium and Portugal are out of the monthly analysis. Nevertheless even though the UK is not included (is the second largest market for the 500 in Europe), the results for August indicate that Fiat should be worrying a lot.

Though Fiat invested 800 million euros in the plant of Pomigliano for the production of the new Panda, the small car continues to lead the ‘A-Segment’ but far away from initial forecast. Photo by: Automobilismo.it

In August 2012 the trio sold 12.041 cars*, which means more than double of Fiat 500’s registrations and almost 4.000 units above the Fiat Panda, the historical leader. This trend was evident in July when the Up!/Mii/Citigo was just 51 units behind the Panda. But last month sales figures dropped for the Italian couple while the Slovak trio did not experience it that way. Compared to July figures, the 500 was the most affected one, down a massive 40%. Then comes the Panda, down 37% and finally the trio from VW Group, down only 9%. The results are really bad for Fiat specially if it is considered the fact that both models represent more than half of the brand sales in Europe and now the Punto is becoming a rare model to see in the top best-selling cars outside Italy. It is also even more complicated taking into account that the Panda is an all new model with no more than 10 months old, and the investment required for it was around 800 million euros. At this point is when Marchionne says that there is not enough market for new models, specially if that market is being conquered by VW in all segments. In the other hand there are some people who say that there is no such cataclysm and August bad results for the small couple are just punctual. Some how that position is right.

The new versions of the 500 may be helping but after 5 years in the market the small Fiat should be thinking of a successor

Last month’s results can be explained from several points of view. First of all August has been always a month of small numbers all over Europe as people go out for vacations. Second, European car market is certainly passing thru perhaps the most difficult times in decades. And third, Italian market is becoming one of the worst in terms of sales fall. Just in August the market was down 20%, which is the biggest fall among big European markets. For example, in August/11 almost 1.800 Fiat 500 were sold in Italy, and one year later 1.700 were sold (down only 4%) so at the end the bad result for the 500 could be explained as a ‘seasonable’ thing, more than really bad results. The same situation for the Panda and Italy: one year ago 4.532 units were sold against 5.011 last month. Of course, if those numbers are compared to July ones, the conclusion would be completely different. What happens in Italy every August does not happen that much in other European markets. Germany for example saw its total car sales to fall 5%, year-on-year, but at the end the total number is not far from previous months. So it is important to consider what happens in main markets for the models analyzed. As the 500 and specially the Panda depends a lot on Italian market, their total sales figures for Europe will be strongly affected by the Italian result. In the other hand the Up! depends a lot on German market (42%) but that market does not collapse in August.

This figure shows the main 3 markets for each model. The left number indicates the market share of that market on model’s total sales. The right number indicates the market share of the model in that market. It means Italy represents 31% of Fiat 500 sales in Europe, while that model has 3% of Italian market sales. Fiat Panda sales figures include the second generation numbers. VW Up! sales figures include Skoda Citigo and Seat Mii numbers. Source: bestsellingcarsblog.net

But if Italy and Germany are not considered, certainly VW is winning the match. The trio sold more than 2.000 units in small markets as Denmark or Netherlands, while they sold some more in France, Romania, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland. Fiat did well in Germany and the Netherlands with the 500, while the Panda did not do bad in Austria and Denmark. French sales figures for the Italian couple are really bad and it contributes to less numbers, as traditionally France has been an important market for both models. The good markets for ‘A-segment’ cars are now being conquered by VW. It means Denmark and the Netherlands, where this kind of cars is very popular (because of high taxes to all cars). Other important markets (in terms of units sold and not in terms of  ‘A-Segment’  market share) such as Spain and France, Fiat still dominates the battle. Year-to-date numbers show that the Slovak trio surpasses for the very first time the Fiat 500 with 2.300 units. If the three models were considered as a unique model, the 500 would not be anymore the second best-selling ‘A-segment’ car in Europe. The Panda is still the best-selling small car but initial forecast and the capacity of Pomigliano plant are far away from current results.

Source: bestsellingcarsblog.net

*Not included Mii and Citigo Italian sales numbers

 

 

Click here to see Fiat Panda/500 vs. VW Up! September 2012

Click here to see Fiat Panda/500 vs. VW Up! July 2012

by - 3 Comments

Chrysler grows less than American market in August

Good news for Chrysler and American car market. August was again a good month for Chrysler Group sales figures which went up 14% thanks to great results of Chrysler brand. However Chrysler’s results are not as good as total markets’. American car market was up 20% and confirms the good trend it has had in the last months. According to some analysts the good result was led by Honda, VW Group and Toyota, followed by double-digit sales gains by GM, Ford and Chrysler. One year ago the seasonally adjusted sales was 12.5 million units (August 2010 – August 2011) and this year it was 14.53 million (August 2011 – August 2012). Year-to-date numbers indicate that the market has grown 14.7%, which could be considered the best growth among developed countries. There is no doubt that American car market is recovering from the dark years it had during the financial crisis, the opposite of what is happening in Europe nowadays.

Source: Good Car Bad Car

In that great context Chrysler Group plus Fiat occupies fourth place in the ranking of cars sold. In August the whole group sold 148.472 units, up 14%, or 18.300 more cars than one year ago. That result is better than the whole year’s average of 138.579 and is the third best of the year in terms of units. However as it was said before the good result of Chrysler was exceeded by total market’s, so in terms of growth August was the second worst after July when Chrysler Group sales figure were up only 12.6%. That growth is practically the same Dodge/Ram brands had together and is more than Jeep’s which was up only 5.5%. In the other hand Chrysler brand was up 24.8% and Fiat sold a new record of 4.150 units, up 33.6%. Dodge/Ram represents half of total sales. Compared to other car makers, Chrysler did worse than Honda  division (+60%), Toyota (+46%) and VW Group (+48%), but better than Ford (+13%) and GM (+10%).

Though there is a good result in August 2012, sales figures are still far from pre-crisis numbers. Source: http://www.carsitaly.net

Unlike sales figures, market share shows that Chrysler is growing up faster than total market. Source: http://www.carsitaly.net

The Ram is up 19% while the Caravan had a great performance, up 35%. Among Dodge models the new Dart took off with more than 3 thousand units, which is far from the target but is a result that Marchionne liked. The Journey had the best performance, up a massive 58%. The Chrysler 200 slowed down but the 300 grew up 65%. The Jeep Grand Cherokee seems to reach its top with almost 13.000 units sold. Now Chrysler needs more fresh products and new midsize SUV if it wants to keep its good performance.

Source: http://www.carsitaly.net, Good Car Bad Car

 

Click here to see USA September 2012 Results

Click here to see USA July 2012 Results

by - 6 Comments

August/12, Fiat suffers in a terrible Italian market

One more terrible month for Italian car market. Again the fall was above 20% and things don’t seem to get better. During August 2012 Italian market fell 20.23% compared to August/11, which means it is the third month in a row with a drop above 20% after June (-24.4%) and July (-21.4%)*. It was by far the worst result among big markets in Europe (Germany, France, UK, Spain, Benelux) and means a big threat for the future of Fiat Group in Europe, which considers Italy as its ‘fortress’ such as France is for Renault or PSA. It is why some important car industry analyst continue to look for solutions to stop the crisis that could result in another factory closure in the next months. The Automobile Club d’Italia, ACI, said this week that what the government is doing has not helped at all to solve the problem. “Government’s policies have focused only in the rise of taxes to car buyers, who are now decreasing the use of their cars looking to reduce their expenses… more than going forward, car industry is using the reverse, at least in our country: like this there is no future. We ask the government to establish a work group to create a strategy to give some oxygen to car buyers and companies, so more than 10.000 jobs can be saved. The first and immediate policy could be the reduction of taxes on gasoline“. In fact what makes Italian market to have the worst fall among European car markets is that gas prices and new taxes are the rising a lot. Italians buy fewer cars as having one means more expenses than before and economic situation in Europe does not seem to get better in the short or mid-term.

Europe’s sales registrations during August 2012

In this terrible context Fiat-Chrysler sold 16.699 cars in August 2012, or 29.58%** of total market. It means the whole group’s sales figures fell 20.59%, a bit more than total markets’. The reason for this fall on its market share (one year ago it was 29.72%) is explained by the big fall of Lancia, down 32%, strongly dependant on Ypsilon model which had a strong fall. Something that did not happen to Fiat and Alfa Romeo. Fiat registrations fell ‘only’ 17.54% allowing it to gain more market share, while Alfa Romeo was down 20.49%. The other 3 brands, Jeep, Ferrari and Maserati, the small ones in terms of units sold, had very bad results. Ferrari sold only 6 units, down a massive 63%, while Maserati sold 4 units, down 72%. The reason for the super cars fall is the new policy against the owners of this kind of cars. Anyway less units sold of these two brands has a bigger impact on profits. Comparing to other car makers, Fiat brand sold 2.4 more cars than its immediate competitor, VW, while one year ago it sold 2.31 more cars than Ford, the second one by that time. Fiat’s fall was lower than Ford, Opel, Citroen and Renault’s, while VW, Peugeot, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai and Kia (+78%) did better. Alfa Romeo did better than BMW but Mercedes and Audi had lower falls. It sold more cars than Mercedes.

Italy’s car sales figures by brand during August 2012. Fiat brand did better than total market while Lancia did bad because of the fall of the Ypsilon. Source: UNRAE

In terms of models the situation is pretty much the same. The Panda was again the best-selling car and was up 10%, while the Punto was in second place, down 50% and only 680 units above the Ford Fiesta, the second place of B-Segment. But what really impresses is the massive fall of Lancia Ypsilon, down 49%. It is the first time this new generation has bad results and Lancia must be thinking of what went wrong and what to do for the coming months for a model that is still considered a new product. The small 500 fell 4% thanks to new versions and colours, but also because VW has not been able to gain a good place among A-Segment cars with its Up!. The Giulietta did well with more than 1.000 units sold, allowing to be Italy’s 10th best-selling car and this time 670 units behind the leader, the old VW Golf (the Alfa was down 9.7% while the Golf was down 16.5%). Other good results come from the Lancia Musa, up 125%, and the Thema with 48 units delivered, up 300%. The Bravo sold only 489 units, down 45% while the Freemont begins its slowdown as it sold 13% less than one year ago.

Top 5 per segment in Italy in August 2012. Certainly B-Segment is the one with worst results and the Peugeot 208 is catching some part of that segment. The same happens with the Panda which is killing its rivals from France. Source: UNRAE

Year-to-date numbers show that 290.840 Fiat, Lancia, Alfa, Jeep, Ferrari and Maseratis were sold until August. It means   73.604 cars less than one year ago, or -20.19%. Compared to total market’s performance (-19.86%), Fiat-Chrysler’s share is now 29.64% while one year ago was a bit better, 29.77%. Only Ford, Toyota and Renault did worse than that, while Germans fell but not that bad, and Koreans gained a big share of the market, as it is happening in Europe. At the end Fiat-Chrysler is suffering the consequences of a market that was tainted by government helps for several years, and now is doing the opposite. What Fiat must do is to depend less not only on Italian market but on government aid, no matter if it means less units sold, because at the end those units will be safe and real sales.

 

Click here to see Italy September 2012 results

 

*www.carsitaly.net

** UNRAE

by - 4 Comments

Fuel-efficient Ram to gain more market share

The 2013 Ram 1500

The 2013 version of the Ram is getting ready to get more market share with better fuel-efficiency. It is powered by 3.6 liter and 305 hp in a V6 engine, and thanks to new features the truck has a fuel economy rating of 18 city/25 highway. It is much better than current model: 14/20. It will be introduced in late 2012 starting at $23.585 and there will be more engine options such as the 4.7 liter V8 or the 5.7 Hemi V8. Outside the car will not change. But the good things come inside as it will offer the Start/Stop system, active grill shutters, adjustable suspension to lower the truck when it goes in high speed roads to reduce air drag. All those features will allow the largest member of Fiat-Chrysler alliance to reduce its fuel consumption and bring new customers as it will be the most efficient truck available in the US market. Recently Ram trucks had gained more market share without being really competitive in terms of fuel efficiency. In the last year Ram has been able to gain market share among big trucks.

Units sold and market share of 3 main trucks in US market. The Ram has gained more market share in the last year but it still far away from the good years before the financial crisis. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net

Source: Automotive News

by - 3 Comments

VW Up! threatens Fiat Panda’s leadership

If June was a bad month for the couple Fiat Panda-500, July was even worse. If it is considered sales figures of Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland, during las month 13.272 Pandas were sold, just 51 units above the sum of Up!, Citigo and Mii. It is the first time the German trio reaches that great result and now it is not only more popular than Fiat 500 but it seems it will beat Fiat Panda and maybe dethrone it in the next months. It is important to mention that in this monthly analysis it is being considered 3 models with 3 and 5 door versions for the VW/Skoda/Seat against one single model of Fiat 500 with only 3 doors option and the two latest generations of Fiat Panda, only available with 5 door body.  Anyway, the Panda has been always Europe’s best selling A-Segment car but it has had a tough time not only in its native Italy, where it dropped 17.5% compared to June figures, but also in all other countries except for Romania and Slovakia. The small Fiat fell 25% compared to June figures, much more than Fiat 500, down 16%, while the Germans are up 7%. The 500 is down everywhere in Europe except for Austria, up 17%, Denmark, up 3%, and Poland, up 68%.

In July the Up!/Citigo/Mii are more popular in Austria, Czech Rep., Germany, Denmark, Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland. They had a record sales in Austria, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia and Switzerland. The situation for Fiat is really bad as two important things must be analyzed: first of all, it was July, a historical bad month for car sales everywhere in Europe, and Fiat models dropped but the VWs were up. And the second one is that the product with the deepest fall was the Panda, an all-new product on sale since January. Year-to-date records show that the Panda commands with a big difference but the 500 will be soon replaced as the second best selling A-Segment car by the German trio. If Italian car market continues to fall, while the Up! keeps rising in Germany, Fiat will not only lose and important market share in A-segment but will be in serious trouble in the next months. Of course the UK, not included due to lack of data, is an important market for the Fiat 500.

Green cells indicate growth compared to June figures. Red ones indicate fall. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net

Click here to see Fiat Panda/500 vs. VW Up! August 2012

Click here to see Fiat Panda/500 vs. VW Up! June 2012

by - 3 Comments

The Italian crisis and the extinction of Ferraris

The tittle may be shocking, but it explains what is going on in the troubled Italy with expensive cars. According to Bloomberg news the situation with luxury cars is becoming dramatic in Italy because of the financial crisis and governments measures. It is not only a matter of new car sales figures, which are down an incredible 20%, but is also about the impossibility of having the Ferraris, Maserati, Porsche or Lambos in a country where new taxes appear every day and the fight against tax evaders has become an official duty. That’s why many Italians are exporting their super cars in order to avoid tax payments or the persecution of police. According to the article, the number of secondhand high performance cars exported from Italy was up 177% in the first 5 months of 2012, when 13.633 cars were taken out of the country. Italian authorities began a raid against all tax evaders going to exclusive places where all the millionaires go with their supercars. By doing it they could know who was really declaring the right income and therefore paying enough taxes. And as expected, Italian police has found several people enjoying their ‘toys’ and having the ‘dolce vita’ without paying the right amount of taxes. It is certainly a pity in a country known by its supercars in its wonderful roads.

Ferrari and Maserati sales figures in their main markets during 2011. They are Fiat’s most profitable brands. Source: Ferrari Annual Report via Torque News.

The rise on taxes to luxury cars has affected for the first time high performance luxury brands. Most of the times, this kind of cars is more resilient to economic crisis as millionaires are the last ones to suffer the consequences of a recession.  But in Italy things are different and Ferrari for example forecasts a fall on its new car sales of 47%, while they keep increasing their exports to China, the Middle East and the US. Eventhough local market is decreasing for Ferrari and Maserati, they keep being Fiat Group’s most profitable brands. Just in the first half of the year both brands had a combined operational profit of 175 million euros, with an awesome margin of 12.2%, beating BMW’s 11.6%, and helping Fiat Group to decrease its losses. It seems Italian economic crisis is not only affecting the small Panda and 500 but also the gorgeous Ferrari 458 and Maserati Gran Turismo.