(June 16, 2015) LONDON — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles posted a 9% increase in passenger car sales in Europe in May, outpacing the industry for the fifth consecutive month. The Group was leader in the European A segment for the 29th consecutive month, with the Fiat Panda and Fiat 500 accounting for a combined 29.5% share.

The Fiat 500L ranked first in the Small MPV segment for the month with a 24.1% share. The Fiat 500X and Jeep Renegade have also established themselves among the best selling models in the Small SUV segment.

The Fiat brand outperformed the industry for the third consecutive month, with a significant contribution from the 500X. On the back of the sales performance of the Renegade, the Jeep brand registered its 19th consecutive monthly increase in Europe, with percentage sales growth well above the industry average in each of the major markets. 

The European passenger car market continued the year's positive trend, although below previous levels. New vehicle registrations were up 1.4% for the month, to 1,152,000 vehicles, and 6.7% for the year-to-date, to more than 6,000,000 vehicles.

FCA outperformed the industry average for the fifth month running, with May sales increasing 9.0% year-over-year to more than 78,000 vehicles. European market share was 6.8%, compared with 6.3% in May a year ago and 6.5% in April 2015.

The Group outpaced the industry in several major markets, with sales up 13.4% year-over-year in Italy (+10.8% for the industry), 3.4% in France (-3.5% for the industry), 4.4% in the UK (+2.4% for the industry) and 19.4% in Spain (+13.9% for the industry).

Year-to-date, sales were up 11.5% to more than 385,000 vehicles (also significantly higher than the industry average) and share was 30 basis points higher at 6.4%.

Fiat brand outpaced the industry for the third consecutive month, with May sales up 7.1% year-over-year to nearly 59,000 vehicles and share increasing 30 basis points to 5.1%. The brand's May sales increased 13.1% year-over-year in Italy, 10.3% in France and 20.0% in Spain, outperforming the industry in all three markets.

For the year-to-date, the brand's European sales were up 8.4% to nearly 290,000 vehicles, with share stable at 4.8%.

The brand posted its 29th consecutive month as leader in the European A segment, with the Panda and 500 accounting for a combined 29.5% share. The Panda was the top selling A-segment vehicle with nearly 15,200 units sold in May (just a few dozen ahead of the 500) and nearly 77,100 sold for the year-to-date, an 11.5% increase over the first five months of 2014. Sales of the 500 were up 3.1% for the year-to-date to more than 81,100 vehicles.

The 500L family registered its eighth consecutive month as leader in the Small MPV segment, with May sales of nearly 7,900 vehicles and segment share at 24.1%. The 500X ranked among the top ten in the Small SUV segment with 5,700 vehicles sold during the month.