November storm whirling around Italian True Fleet Market

The slide in the Italian car market continued in November. With a 16.4% dip, the True Fleet Market was hit markedly worse than the Total Market (‑ 5.8%). Then again, in YTD figures, fleet is the only channel to eke out positive (+ 0.4%) though this might well tip into the red with December figures.

Brand performance

The top ten brand ranking was thoroughly mixed in November with 8 out of the top 10 OEMs either gaining or losing in the double-digit range. Fiat was the only brand to retain its position from 2017 and stayed number one, this however was with their formerly comfortable edge in market share diminished to just one percentage point. VW went up! by one rank and a spectacular + 37.8%, driven by this model’s growth contributions and the T-Roc, Tiguan and Polo. Mercedes, while not repeating their 2017 volume gains, conquered the 3^rd podium position. Rank 4 went to Peugeot which climbed 4 positions, followed by Audi, Jeep, BMW, Renault and Ford. Toyota was the only newcomer in the top 10, capitalising on a 167% growth from the C-HR.

Vehicle Segments

The Toyota C-HR is a representative of the only vehicle segment that grew in the November storm, perhaps too small to be blown away and yet heavy enough to stay on the ground, it is of course SUV Compact. Within the ranks, the VW Tiguan claimed the top spot, growing by 29.0%, followed by the Jeep Compass (+ 96.9%) and the Peugeot 3008 (+ 28.1%) right before the C-HR.

Fuel Types

In terms of fuel types in the True Fleet Market, Italy is now one of six countries were alternative fuels make up for more than 10% of registrations. The mayor of Rome has proven to have some sense of humour though, announcing a ban of the CO₂-reducing diesel on a conference discussing CO₂-reductions. Nevertheless, it seems more companies are considering CNG/LPG as an alternative for their high-mileage cars while perhaps opting for some Hybrids for company cars putting less kilometres on the clock. With additional help from public incentives, both fuel types, Gas and Hybrid, upped their share beyond the 5% mark.