According to data published by trade association UNRAE, Italian registrations during the month have increased by 17.4% year on year (y/y) to 190,426 units. This has further positively contributed to its year to date (YTD) performance, registrations for the first quarter now standing at 519,256 units, a gain of 20.8% y/y.

Analysis by IHS Automotive shows that Fiat sales contributed heavily to the growth of the market this month. During February, its registrations increased by 21.6% y/y to 41,936 units, amounting to a market share of 22%. This has put its growth during the quarter at almost 25%. Other Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) brands have also outpaced the market this month. Lancia, despite only having one model on sale in the country, still managed to record a gain of 30.4% y/y to 7,125 units, while Jeep is up 28.1% y/y to 3,845 units, although the early benefits of its popular Renegade are starting to ease. However, Alfa Romeo has struggled this month as its registrations have dipped by 0.3% y/y to 3,136 units due to its ageing portfolio.

Other than FCA's brands, VW returned to second place in the market after gaining 20.4% y/y to 14,281 units. However, Ford remained close behind, having increased by 25.1% y/y to 14,087 units. Renault also recorded a solid month in March, with a 30.2% y/y increase to 12,203 units. The rest of the market was mixed, with some volume automakers easing off after a strong first couple of months.

In Spain, after a 30-month run of gains, the market recorded a dip during March. According to the latest data released by Spanish trade association ANFAC, the market slid by 0.7% y/y to 111,512 units. However, gains in the first two months of the year put its quarterly rise at 6.9% y/y to 285,495 units.

Opel maintained its standing as the best-selling brand in the market with registrations of 9,298 units, a gain of 10.8% y/y. It achieved this through a positive month for its best-selling B-segment Corsa, Mokka sub-compact crossover and Zafira multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), which have easily offset a decline for the C segment Astra. This has enabled its YTD to remain up by 26.5% y/y at 25,007 units.

As for other brands in this market, although the Peugeot brand has increased 7.7% y/y in March thanks to its crossover models such as its C-segment 308, others have not been so fortunate. The VW brand has fallen by 16.8% y/y to 7,755 units as the Polo and outgoing Tiguan sales have slumped, while SEAT has fallen 12.2% y/y to 7,749 units on a weaker performance from the Ibiza and Toledo. Renault, Nissan and Ford have all also recorded double-digit percentage declines in the top-10 this month.

Looking ahead, IHS said that Italy is set to grow 10% y/y while the Spanish market is now up 4.5% y/y.