Italian Car Market Rises 4.8% in October as Chinese Brands Gain

Hybrids dominate, plug-ins surge

Italy remains a hybrid market. Hybrids took 65,563 registrations in October, 49.0% of the total, with full hybrids up 43.1% to 26,239 and mild hybrids down 2% to 39,324. Plug-in hybrids grew 80.7% to 17,008, a 12.7% share, while battery-electric cars rose 28.1% to 8,122, or 6.1%. Together, rechargeable cars reached 18.8% of the market, against 17.6% for the year so far. Private buyers registered 76,973 cars, up 6.1%, while long-term leasing fell 9.9% and short-term rental more than doubled to 4,924.

Brands and models

Fiat stayed the best-selling brand with 12,310 cars, up 6.2%, ahead of Toyota with 11,262 and Volkswagen with 9,289, down 5.0%. Dacia fell 9.6% to 6,841, BMW rose 1.5% to 6,367 and Renault reached 6,064. BYD took seventh place with 6,009 registrations, MG grew 37.9% to 5,358 and Omoda and Jaecoo rose 171.8% to 4,988, entering the top ten. The Fiat Panda was the best-selling model again with 7,191 cars, down 3.9%, followed by the Dacia Sandero with 4,222 and the Jeep Avenger with 3,961. The BYD Seal U doubled to 2,588 and entered the top ten.

Stellantis under pressure

Stellantis brands, including Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot and the Leapmotor joint venture, lost ground overall. Reuters said a shortage of an electronic engine component had disrupted production of some Fiat models in Italy. The market as a whole is still about 13.8% below 2019 levels for the year to date, and UNRAE expects 1,640,000 registrations for 2026, up 7.5%.

What it means for buyers

Italian buyers now have a wide choice of plug-in hybrids, and the rapid share gains of Chinese brands put pressure on established brands to sharpen their offers. If you want a Fiat, ask about delivery times, since the component shortage has hit some models. The Panda remains the default small car in Italy despite its age.

See also the third-generation Fiat Panda and the BYD catalogue.