Italian new car sales are expected to fall between 10-20% in April as the end to government car buying incentives starts to bite, Fiat brand chief executive Lorenzo Sistino said on Tuesday.

Earlier this month Italian study group Promotor said it expected the Italian market to start contracting from April as the order backlog from incentives runs down. Italian incentives stopped at the end of 2009.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

“We are seeing a double-digit fall … 10-20 percent,” Sistino told Reuters on the sidelines of the launch of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta which goes on sale next month.

March Italian car sales were up 19.6%, benefiting from orders when incentives were still in place.

Alfa brand chief Harald Wester said he aims to sell 100,000 Giuliettas a year when sales are running at full pace from 2011.

Just Auto Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Auto Technology Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Continental has secured the Window Displays Innovation Award in the 2025 Just Auto Excellence Awards for its Window Projection solution, transforming side windows into dynamic, data-rich canvases. Discover how this compact projection technology and intelligent software are reshaping in-car UX and opening fresh revenue streams for OEMs and mobility providers.

Discover the Impact