Italian market sees big sales leap in April as virus restrictions eased

MILAN -- Italian new-car registrations increased 3,277 percent in April to 145,033, according to data from the country's ministry of infrastructure and transport.

In April 2020, only 4,295 units were registered as the country was under complete lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The April 2021 figure was still 17 percent below the pre-pandemic level in April 2019, despite one more selling day, industry association ANFIA said in a press release.

Italy was still under partial lockdown in April, with most of the northern regions under strict travel limitations, but dealerships were open for business as they are classified as an essential activity.  Some restrictions - such as a ban on inter-regional travel - were partially lifted as COVID-19 levels slowly dwindled in most regions.

According to market research company Dataforce, private demand was 8.1 percent lower in April 2021.

A government program to subsidize new cars with CO2 emissions up to 135 grams per km has helped to stimulate private demand in the previous months, but funds for the 61-135 g/km bracket ran out in April.

Sales to companies were 10 percent lower than in 2019, Dataforce said. Sales to long-term rental companies were down 7.3 percent, and sales to short-term rental companies dropped by 54 percent from the 2019 level, with tourism still hampered by travel restrictions. Self-registrations by automakers and dealers were 23 percent lower than in 2019.

Stellantis had a 40.3 percent share of the Italian market in April. The Fiat brand increased sales by 2,293 percent, Lancia was up 4,627 percent, Jeep posted a 1,516 increase and Alfa Romeo sales rose 560 percent.

Peugeot sales were up 1,787 percent, Citroen gained 2,496 percent, Opel registrations increased by 2,281 percent and DS grew by 706 percent.

Volkswagen Group had a 17.3 percent market share, up 2.1 percentage points from March.

Within the VW Group, VW brand sales grew by 9,829 percent, Skoda sales were up 5,753 percent, Seat sales rose 6,425 percent and Audi increased 8,147 percent. Porsche volume gained 4,470 percent.

• Click here for Italy's April and 4-month sales by brand.

Renault Group had a 6.9 percent market share, last month down 1.5 percentage points. Renault brand sales were up 1,102 percent, while Dacia brand posted a 6,352 percent increase.

Ford's registrations were up 3,930 percent.

Toyota sales increased 14,859 percent, while Nissan recorded a gain of 11,878 percent. Hyundai sales were up 8,886 percent, while sibling brand Kia grew by 16,222 percent.

BMW brand sales rose 5,247 percent and rival Mercedes-Benz increased 9,296 percent.
Electrified vehicles lose market share

Registrations of plug-in hybrid and full-electric vehicles rose 2,083 percent in April to 11,524, less than the market average. Their combined market share was 7.9 percent, down from 8.8 percent in March and 12.1 percent in April 2020, importer association UNRAE said.

Sales were still helped by government subsidies of up to 8,000 euros ($9,400) for full-electric vehicles and up to 4,500 euros for plug-in hybrids.

Sales of plug-in hybrids increased 25,565 percent to 6,673, for a 4.6 percent market share (up from 0.6 percent in March 2020).

Registrations of full-electric vehicles increased 866 percent to 4,851, and their market share fell to 3.3 percent from 11.5 percent April 2020. Sales had been helped in April 2020 by a bulk delivery to fleets of the Renault Zoe and by Tesla's ability to home-deliver its cars even during the strict lockdown.

The Fiat New 500 was the most popular full-electric vehicle in April, with 1,062 sales. The Smart Fortwo minicar finished second with 601 units.

The Jeep Compass compact SUV was the most popular plug-in hybrid choice, ahead of its Jeep Renegade sibling and the Volvo XC40 compact crossover.

Full-hybrid and mild-hybrid sales were up 15,934 percent for a 28.7 percent market share, higher than the 22.8 percent share of diesel cars. Diesel sales rose 1,777 percent.

Gasoline car sales were up 2,949 percent in April, with a market share of 31.9 percent, 3.2 percentage points down from April 2020.

Sales of cars powered by liquefied petroleum gas were 5,270 percent higher, with a 6.5 percent market share (up from 4 percent in 2020).

Demand for vehicles driven by compressed natural gas grew by 4,129 percent, giving the powertrain a market share of 2.2 percent, up from 1.8 percent in April 2020.

Italian sales through April increased 68 percent to 592,181.

Dataforce forecasts a 7.7 percent increase to 1.49 million registrations for the year.