Italy's new car sales flat in November compared with previous year

ROME, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Sales of new cars in Italy were stable in November, with a marginal year-on-year 0.04% decline to 124,222 units, transport ministry data showed on Monday.

In the first 11 months of the year, sales were down 2.43% compared to the same period of 2024, to 1.453 million units, the ministry said.

Registrations for market leader Stellantis, whose brands include Fiat, Jeep and Peugeot, fell 4.39% in November compared to the same month last year, Reuters calculations showed.

Stellantis' share of the Italian market shrank to 23.77%, according to the same calculations, compared to 26.6% in October and 24.9% in November last year.

The figures do not include the Leapmotor Chinese joint venture, which sold 2,211 vehicles in Italy last month and held a 1.8% market share, Stellantis said in a separate statement.

Fiat, historically Italy's most popular car brand, lost its crown in November to Toyota/Lexus, capturing 8.72% of the market compared to the 9.13% of its Japanese rival.   

Over the January-November period, Fiat, however, remained the biggest selling brand, with a market share of 9.47% compared to 8.21% for Toyota/Lexus. 

Chinese brands continued to perform strongly, with BYD sales jumping ed 535.3% year-on-year in November and Chery's Omoda/Jaecoo up 386.5%.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Giulia Segreti and Keith Weir)