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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Fiat 500 Sales Resilient



Seven years after its 2007 European introduction the Fiat 500 continues to be a sales phenomenon. Most model's sales fall off drastically as the model ages, however the Fiat 500 bucks that trend. Last year, the Fiat 500 was Europe's best selling city-car. Even in the US, three years after its debut in 2011 the Fiat 500 is a force to be reckoned with. In January, Fiat USA, with just two models, the 500 and 500L outsold the entire seven car lineup of MINI USA. 3,222 to 2,543.

Fiat 500 Market Share
Sales performance of the Fiat 500 in Europe. The dotted line marks the typical life cycle curve of a traditional A-Segment model, however Fiat 500 sales have remained consistently strong and resilient throughout. Last year the Fiat 500 was the best selling A-segment car in Europe. This minicar segment is Europe's second largest car segment and the 500 has run neck and neck with the Fiat Panda for top honors for the past six years. Between the 500 and Panda, Fiat sold 312,419 cars compared to runner-up Volkswagen with 202,343 cars spread among its three cars in the segment.

In The US
This is not an isolated occurrence, either. So far this year the Fiat 500 (2,493) has outsold the Chevrolet Spark (1,844), the Mitsubishi MiEV (1), the Scion iQ (166) Smart ForTwo (521), Hyundai Veloster (1,821), Mini Cooper (1,358) and Scion Tc (1,107), Toyota Yaris (1,005) Volkswagen Beetle 2,034, Volkswagen Golf 1,712 and Mazda 2 (907).

Fiat 500 Abarth

But it gets better. If you're thinking it's a fluke and the 500 just had a good month, Here is a list of popular cars that the Fiat 500 has outsold for the past two straight years: Hyundai Veloster, VW Golf, Mazda 2, Scion Tc, Scion IQ, Smart ForTwo, Chevrolet Spark and Toyota Yaris. Despite falling small car sales in the US, the Fiat 500 has kept its lead over its competitors.

What seems obvious with all this is the unique, timeless design of the Fiat 500 keeps the car fresh and engaging. I think the over 1.1 million Fiat 500 owners worldwide would agree.

Fiat 500 Competitor's Sales Totals for 2013-2012
Total Sales 2013 Total Sales 2012

Fiat 500
 35,83443,772

Hyundai 
Veloster

 30,711
    
34,872

Volkswagen
Golf

 30,971
    
40,885

Toyota
Yaris

 21,342
    
30,590

Mazda 2

 11,757
    
19,315

Chevrolet Spark

 34,130
    
12,385

Scion Tc

 19,094
    
22,666

Scion iQ

 4,046
    
8,879

Smart ForTwo

 9,264
    
10,009

Update: The Fiat 500 has once again outsold its well known competitors in 2014:


Fiat 500 2014 Sales - 33,708
VW Golf 2014 Sales -- 33,675
MINI Cooper 2014 Sales -- 31385
VW Beetle 2014 Sales -- 29,182
Hyundai Veloster 2014 Sales -- 27,598
Scion Tc 2014 Sales -- 17,947
Mitsubishi Mirage 2014 Sales -- 16,708
Toyota Yaris 2014 Sales -- 13,724
Smart Fortwo 2014 Sales -- 10,453
Smart iQ 2014 Sales -- 2,040

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Sources: Manufacturer's data, Automotive News, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

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