Italy: Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia with heavy losses

2024 was another difficult year for the automotive market in Italy. The domestic brands, in particular, suffered huge losses. The once omnipresent Fiat brand now only has a market share of seven per cent.

This is due to home-made problems: The new Fiat Grande Panda has been delayed, the combustion-powered 500 has been cancelled without replacement for the time being and the Panda is no longer all that affordable either. Lancia lost even more ground, although this is due to the model change of the Ypsilon, which is popular in Italy. 

Among the brands that can be described as "winners", Dacia stands out, consolidating its presence on the Italian market with an increase of 13.67% thanks to competitive models in terms of value for money. Toyota (up 24.55%) and Lexus (up 61.80%) also stood out, fuelled by the growing demand for hybrid vehicles.

It is also interesting to note the rise of some Chinese brands such as MG (+32.01%) and BYD, which delivered 2,771 cars in a single year. Mitsubishi is the only brand to record triple-digit growth (211.49%), as did Lotus (159.85%), although it should be noted that these are 3,252 and 356 units respectively.

And the Italian brands? Fiat retains the lead at national level and Volkswagen remains behind, but despite the high volume, both brands are down (they lost 17.6% and 1.25% respectively).

Stellantis and the Italian car brands

In 2024, 143,867 Fiat vehicles were registered (-17.60%), a decrease compared to 174,587 in 2023. Lancia (-28.32%) and Alfa Romeo (-14.59%) also saw significant declines, reflecting the challenge of adapting to a rapidly evolving market.

The new Lancia Ypsilon

The new Lancia Gamma, rendered by Motor1

Among the Italian luxury brands, Maserati recorded a massive drop in sales (-41.66%), while Ferrari did well with 755 super sports cars delivered compared to 654 in the previous year (+15.4%).

Overall, the Stellantis Group ended the year in Italy with 454,013 vehicles sold (-10.1%). DS also suffered losses (-22.7%), as did Jeep (-4.2%), Opel (-0.2%) and Peugeot (-2.1%); Citroën performed well (+7.2%), with the C3 taking first place among the top ten best-selling petrol models.

The 2024 ranking by vehicle group

Mixed figures for the German manufacturers

German manufacturers showed mixed results in Italy in 2024. Volkswagen, despite its position as one of the leading groups in Italy, recorded a slight decline of 1.25%, a sign of stability compared to other struggling brands. Among the most popular models, the T-Roc and the T-Cross continue to achieve good sales results, while historic models such as the Golf (-3.5%) and the Polo (-3.1%) are slightly down.

Audi also performed well thanks to SUVs such as the Q3 (+1.31%). BMW, on the other hand, recorded significant growth in annual sales figures (+17.37%), which can be attributed to models such as the X1. Mercedes remained more or less stable (+0.85%), with good demand for the GLA.

Chinese competition

The results for 2024 confirm that traditional manufacturers are facing growing competition from Asian brands and that the need to accelerate the transition to electric models remains high. In this context, the decline of Tesla (-5.91%) should be noted.

MG improved by 32 percentage points and moved up to 14th place in the overall ranking of best-selling cars in 2024 with the ZS (last year it was in 22nd place).

MG ZS (2024)

Photo by: MG Motor

BYD Sealion 7

Photo by: BYD

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BYD closed 2024 with a record result worldwide (4.25 million vehicles sold, +41%) and achieved over 3,200 new registrations in Italy, including more than 1,500 in December alone. This constant growth trend has enabled the company to register 2,886 units during the year and rapidly increase its market share: 0.6% in December, after an average of 0.09% in the first nine months. It will therefore be important to follow its progress in 2025, the year of the Sealion 7 and other BYD innovations.

Omoda and Jaecoo are also on the rise, having registered 2,495 cars in Italy and are ready to launch more new products.

The Italians' favourite car brands in 2024

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