Italy's new car market was flat in May

ROME (Reuters) -Italy's market for new cars was flat in May, with sales down only marginally by 0.16% compared to the same month of last year, transport ministry data showed on Tuesday.

In the previous two months, sales had increased after seven consecutive months of year-on-year declines.

Total sales in May stood at 139.390 vehicles.

Market leader Stellantis, whose brands include Fiat, Jeep, Chrysler and Peugeot, lost ground in May, with sales decreasing by 7.99% year-on-year, according to Reuters calculations.

The calculations also indicated that the Franco-Italian automaker's market share dropped to 28.06%, from 30.61% in April.

(Writing by Alvise Armellini, editing by Cristina Carlevaro)