Italian automaker Fiat was lifted on Wednesday by the release of figures showing its sales perked up almost 10% in July over the same month last year.
The vehicles licensing registry said the Turin-based company sold more than 64,000 new cars last month, a rise of 9.8% compared to July 2006.
Fiat's market share for the first seven months of the year climbed to 31.5% from 30.64% for the same period last year.
Fiat issued a statement noting that Fiat's market share had remained above 30% for 19 straight months.
It said the company was expecting a further boost from soaring sales of its new Cinquecento model.
The revamped version of Fiat's iconic mini car was launched at the start of July and already 60,000 orders have been placed.
"Over the next few months, the Cinquecento will definitely play a leading role in our market performance," Fiat said.
The Cinquecento is a modern remake of the classic Fiat 500, the economy car that gave millions of Italian families independent mobility in the 1960 and 70s. It has become one of the symbols of Italy for the rest of the world, alongside Vespas and Parma ham.
The first Fiat 500 was produced in Turin exactly 50 years ago and production ended in 1975.
Meanwhile, the vehicles licensing registry said car sales in general enjoyed a boom last month, helped by government incentives to motorists to trade in old, polluting vehicles for new, cleaner ones.
Car sales jumped 10.1% in July over the same month last year, it said.
