In what could bode well for the fortunes of the Fiat 500 in the US, the cute little city car is continuing its sales success in the UK. While still a European market, the 2,989 Fiat 500’s sold in the month of October prove that the retro style model has appeal outside of its local Italian market.

The sales results mean that the Fiat 500 could enter the top ten most sold cars in the UK. Fiat has also had good results with its other models, with a total of 6,570 Fiat models sold in October this year. That’s an increase of 117.5 percent on the same period last year (with 3,020 models sold). While still very small, Fiat’s market share in the UK has increased from 2.58 to 2.9 percent.

Source | Autoblog.it

Continue reading: Fiat 500 sales success in UK

In what I think is quite an amazing piece of news given the cynicism of the Western world towards Indian manufacturing, the small Indian city car, Nano, has passed European crash test regulations. The tests were undertaken in Britain, where car safety laws are more stringent then in the Nano’s home country.

With the Tata Nano currently available only in India with a price tag of about 1800 pounds, this small crash success could mean we’ll see “Western” versions soon selling in the US and Europe. India is set to adop the strict NCAP testing rules in three years’ time, and Tata executives are very happy with the results.

Only time will tell whether the car will be successful in Western markets, but after Autocar’s test drive endorsement and these new results, in a world of economic crisis that may change consumer patterns, the car is well on its way to being, at the least, acceptable.

Source | Autocar

Continue reading: Tata Nano passes European crash test

John Burton wanted his Maserati Quattroporte Sport GTS in Ocean Blue and it was thus that the 1000th model was delivered in the UK. The latest comes after the Quattroporte started sales back in 2004. Present for the delivery was head of Maserati Great Britain, Peter Denton.

Source | Carscoop

Continue reading: 1000 Maserati Quattroporte sold in the UK

Thanks to the incentives underway in the UK, the Alfa MiTo entry level is available at just 8,995 pounds. That’s less than 10,000 euros, and things could bode well for the MiTo release on the US market. The surprise is that this price reflects that of 1989 for an Alfa.

This step back in time has been highlighted in the official announcement from Alfa. Other features on the MiTo 1.4 litre 16 valve Turismo version are series airbags (all seven of them), VDC, air conditioner, electric windows, and radio with CD and MP3. For a vehicle ten years old on the UK market, you even get 1,000 pounds back in your pocket.

Source| CarScoop

Continue reading: Alfa Romeo MiTo price for the UK: 9,000 pounds

In attempts to boost the “green car” industry, the UK government has announced a two to five thousand pound incentive scheme for customers buying electric and hybrid plug-in cars. The scheme will start from 2011, when we should be seeing more options for hybrid purchases, and more eco-friendly cars on the road.

The program includes infrastructure plans for electric car networks around the UK, amounting to 20 million pounds. The combination of personal customer incentives and infrastructure development is set to make electric cars a real option for drivers.

Source | CarScoop

Continue reading: UK announces hybrid car incentive scheme

After only 92 sales from the previous month, it appears that even Ferrari sales are hit by the economic gloom around the world. Reports are also that Ferrari has laid off 300 workers (ten percent of the Ferrari workforce) and that the Christmas break from December 19 to January 7, having been criticised for being too generous in the first place, is in fact a stop in production.

According to Autocar however, Ferrari is denying any sales crisis, and is basing its decisions on economic nous given the current climate around the world. Some Ferrari models are building up in stock, especially in the UK which is a difficult market for the brand.

The F430 Spider is apparently suffering from the release of the California and the winter season, while Ferrari was relying on the one-to-one personalisation program to solve the stagnating sales problems of the 599 Fiorano and 612 Scaglietti.

While Ferrari will likely weather the storm well enough, it all depends on how long that storm lasts. Currently the 10,000 annual sales target for 2010 is looking a little ambitious.

Via | Autocar

Continue reading: Ferrari in sales crisis or not?