2008 figures...

[toby2449]

well the numbers have been crunched, & here's hoe 2008 turned out for Italy's 3 mainstream marques.

.............2008...........2007......................
FIAT.....957267.........976749........DOWN 2%
LANCIA...113978.......122093........DOWN 6.6%
ALFA......102223........144220.......DOWN 29.1%

for all those interested, the last time Lancia outsold Alfa was 1998, Lancia sold 184841, vs Alfa's 172675, & way back then Alfa's big seller was the 156 @ 94924, Lancia's was the Y @ 145507

For the record, 2008 was Alfa's lowest selling year for more than 10 years, Lancia's lowest selling since 2003, & Fiat's since 2006

The market as a whole was down from 16064464, to 14820569, down 7.7%

Nissan,Audi,Jaguar,Smart,Mazda & Dacia were the only brands to report gains in sales

Alfa performed worst of all brands, down 29.1%, followed by Lexus down 25.7%

[fensaddler]

Not altogether suprising that Alfa have suffered.  They are a prestige brand but with less than cast iron residuals, and both of their key volume models (147 and 159) are getting a bit long in the tooth.  The arrival of the Mito should make a big difference - right segment, new product, good car - and the 149's arrival in December will also help considerably.  Fiat appears to have held up quite well (small cars are good in recessions) and Lancia to have held up around average for the industry.

[toby2449]

i may be wrong & i hope i am, but 2009 is going to be a disaster for all European makes, but i feel the 3 Italian brands who rely on Italy so heavily will be hit more than most. Unless the Italian government do something to instill confidence in the Italian people, Italy's new car sales are probably going to continue to be down 15-20-25% each month, & with figures like that Alfa, Fiat & Lancia are in big trouble!

[fensaddler]

What did worry me was a recent article in Autocar which was forecasting that the recession might well kill off Alfa and Lancia.  That would be a tragedy - about the only car makers left at this rate will be Korean.  With all due respect to their country and culture, that does not fill me with much joy.