Italy's new car sales down 2.12% in 2025 as Chinese brands gain market share
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MILAN, Jan 2 : Sales of new cars in Italy fell by 2.12 per cent last year to 1.53 million units with Chinese brand BYD performing strongly, transport ministry data showed on Friday.
In December, new car sales increased by 2.2 per cent from a year earlier to 108,075, the ministry said.
BYD, which has expanded its retail network in Italy to over 100 outlets selling both electric and hybrid models, recorded an eight-fold surge in sales in the country last year, to almost 24,000 vehicles from fewer than 3,000 in 2024.
In December it sold 3,347 new cars, up 428 per cent year-on-year, ahead of releasing its latest Atto2 DMI plug-in model.
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Orders for the vehicle, which will hit the market in the first quarter, are doing well, it said in a statement.
Rapid growth in Europe has helped BYD strip Tesla of its title as the world's top electric vehicle maker, with data showing on Friday the Chinese car maker outsold Tesla in 2025 for the first time on an annual basis.
Tesla, whose global sales fell around 8.6 per cent in 2025, posted an 18 per cent decline in sales of its electric vehicles in Italy last year, despite an 85 per cent jump in December compared to the same month of 2024.
Registrations of new cars for market leader Stellantis, whose brands include Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Jeep, Peugeot and Opel, fell 5.54 per cent in December versus last year, Reuters calculations showed.
Its market share shrank to 21.5 per cent, according to the same calculations, compared to 23.8 per cent in November.
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