AutoItalia doubles sales

Sales of AutoItalia, official importer of the brands of the Fiat Group and SsangYong, went up in the first two months of the year to 2,762 units, an increase of 92% on the same time last year. In 2007, the company’ sales increased 56%, to 16,338 units. “AutoItalia will sell around 20,000 units this year, up 22.4% compared with the level reached last year,” said Herbert Stein, chairman of AutoItalia Group. The best-selling brand in the group was Fiat, with 1,232 cars, up 73% against the first two months of last year, while the brand’s commercial vehicles division saw a 127% increase on 2007, to 1,467 units. “The model with the highest sales was the B-segment model Grande Punto, with 242 units, up 74%, followed by the Panda model. The models launched in 2008 also witnessed high sales, the compact sedan Linea sold 130 units, Bravo – 61 units, and the mini SUV model Sedici sold 24 units,” added Stein. This year, a new model will be added to the Fiat range, a “remake” of the 50s car, which will cost around 10,000 euros, and compete with models such as the Mini and the VW Beetle, whilst the commercial vehicles range will be supplemented by the new Fiorino model, a commercial vehicle weighing under 3.5 tonnes.