It is known that last year Fiat became the best-selling brand of the Stellantis group. Since the creation of this group in 2021, Jeep has been the largest brand in Stellantis by unit sales volume. However, based on data collected for 94 markets around the world, which represent around 98 percent of the global total, Fiat took the lead in 2022 with 1.17 million units.
The total includes cars and light commercial vehicles and excludes the 12,800 units sold by Abarth. These are the details.
18th Position
In 2022, Fiat was the 18th best-selling car brand in the world. It maintained the position from 2021, but was overtaken by Tesla entering 17th position at nearly 1.3 million units. At the same time, Fiat preceded Mazda, the 19th best-selling brand with 1.12 million units.
The Turin-based brand recorded a 6.8 percent drop in sales compared to 2021, better than the double-digit drops recorded by other major brands such as Renault, Nissan, Honda, or Volkswagen, but worse than the moderate declines recorded by Kia, Ford, and Hyundai.
More Than Half Of Sales In Brazil And Italy
As expected, most Fiats were sold in Brazil and Italy, its two most important markets. Their combined registrations totaled 651,000 units, or 56 percent of the global total.
This figure is in line with the heavy reliance of other brands on their most important markets. For example, 58 percent of global Volkswagen brand sales in 2022 were achieved in China and Germany combined, while China accounted for 47 percent of the global total. Ford's two largest markets, the United States and China, developed 57 percent of its volume.
Fiat's strong presence in Brazil continues to be the main source of volumes and the best scenario for exploring new segments. The latest Fiat Fastback is an example of this. Fortunately for the brand, the Brazilian public responds quite positively to the offering and Fiat continues to have an excellent image among consumers. Volume held steady at nearly 430,000 units last year.
In Italy, the situation is a bit more complex. The Fiat range is quite small, with just five models plus two rebadged vans. The last time Fiat presented a new model was three years ago with the electric 500. Registrations fell by 18 percent compared to 2021, above all due to the lack of interest by Italians in electric cars (the 500 dropped by 24 percent) and in the older lineup (500X and Tipo, around since 2015, have dropped respectively by 31 percent and 24 percent).
The Fifth European, Panda Italica
The Fiat 500 continued to be Fiat's most popular model. Although a large part of its sales corresponds to the internal combustion engine version introduced in 2007, this city car continues to attract the tastes of many consumers in Europe.
Its sales, especially in Europe, increased by 5 percent last year, reaching nearly 180,000 units. The most important markets were Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and Spain. Meanwhile, the electric version of the Fiat 500 accounted for 38 percent of global sales in 2022.
The brand's Italian division placed the Panda second among last year's most popular Fiats. According to the data, this model recorded a 1 percent decrease compared to 2021, reaching 137,600 units. The Italian demand represented 84 percent of this total. In other words, Italy is the only market that keeps the Panda alive.
The author of the article, Felipe Munoz, is an Automotive Industry Specialist at JATO Dynamics.
