The Fiat group was a shining star in an otherwise gloomy European new car market last month, according to data released by automobile associations on Friday.
Fiat boosted both sales and its market share last month while almost t all its key rivals lost ground.
New car sales in Europe in general sank 1.1% compared to the same month last year and a 5.5% jump in October, while in Italy sales rose by 1%.
Sales for the first 11 months of the year, compared to the same period in 2006, were 1.1% higher in Europe but up 6.6% in Italy.
Fiat's sales in November were 1.9% higher than the same month last year, after soaring 7.1% in October, and for the first 11 months of the year were up 6.4%.
Fiat's market share rose to 8.2% in November compared to 7.9% in both November of last year and October of this year, while for the first 11 months of the year it averaged out to 8.1%, as opposed to 7.6% for the same period in 2006.
A statement from Fiat said that that ''we have not had such a good November since 2001''.
Within Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA), sales of Fiat marque cars in November were up 3.2% and captured a 6.4% market share, up 0.3 of a percentage point from November 2006.
For the first 11 months of the year, sales were up 7.6% while Fiat's market share averaged out at 6.3%, an increase of 0.5 of a percentage point from the same period last year.
Lancia sales were 0.8% higher in November and up 5.2% for the first 11 months of the year, while its market share remained stable at 0.8%.
Alfa Romeo sales sank by 5.9% in November and its market share declined to 0.9% compared to 1.1% in November 2006, while for the first 11 months of the year its market quota held at 1.1%, despite a 0.4% dip in sales.
Italy last month remained sixth for sales in Europe, while Volkswagen held the top position despite a 7.2% drop in sales and its market share retreating to 20.4%.
The French PSA group (Peugeot-Citroen) was second, with a 12.5% market share, followed by Ford with 10.1% and GM with 9.8% and Renault with 9.1%, thanks to a 63.7% leap in sales for its Romanian marque Dacia.
The world's leading automaker Toyota saw its European market share slip to 5.3% following a 6.5% drop in sales, while BMW's fortunes rose with a 16.6% jump in sales, thanks above all to its Mini, and a market share of 5.9%.
The Diamler group had a 3.9% decline in sales, despite a 36.4% leap for the tiny Smart car.
