Fiat Grande Punto is Europe's best selling car

A year and a half after its international launch, the Fiat Grande Punto continues to enjoy an excellent run of sales success and the B segment (super-mini) model was Europe's best-selling new car in February with 32,059 units registered, reports automotive market research agency JATO Dynamics.

The Grande Punto, which was first launched onto the Italian market in September 2005, has sold 68,681 for the year to the end of February.

The Grande Punto was also the best selling car across Europe during the early months of last year when its roll-out was proceeding at a swift pace and with 35,050 units sold during February 2006 it is now down 8.5 per cent year-on-year.

For the year-to-date, last year it had sold 73,811 units. The Grande Punto model range has been boosted by the arrival of a range-topping Abarth-branded turbocharged version, which was previewed at the Geneva Motor Show prior to its showroom debut in September.

The Grande Punto is also set to be built outside Italy, with India, Brazil and China all set to begin assembly of the car within the next year.

Boosted by the arrival of the sporty 100 hp version and a very strong month for sales in its home market, where it is the second best selling car behind the Grande Punto, the Panda was in ninth place.

With 23,043 sales last month compared to 18,026 during the same period of 2006, it was up 27.8 per cent year-on-year; and with 47,484 unit sales to the end of February the Panda is 21.7 per cent up on the 39,010 that were registered during the first two months of 2006.

For more details about the Fiat Grande Punto and the entire Fiat range visit the Fiat Showroom in Psaila Street, Birkirkara, call 2382-3100 or log on to www.fiat.com.mt.