Italy's new-car registrations rise 9.9% in September as BYD volumes more than double

Italy's new-car market extended its growth streak in September 2026, with 139,356 passenger cars registered, 9.9% more than in the same month of 2025, according to Transport Ministry data reported by Corriere della Sera and SoldiOnline. Registrations in the first nine months reached 1,268,964 units, up 8.7% year on year.

Readings of the month's pace differ. Quattroruote put September growth at 10.2%, after a 3.2% rise in August, while Teleborsa, carried by Repubblica's financial site, described the market as growing at a slower rate than before. Within the total, the passenger-car segment alone rose 9.7%, according to figures cited by Corriere della Sera.

Stellantis outpaces the market

Stellantis, including the Leapmotor joint-venture brand, registered 38,704 cars in September, a 12.6% increase that lifted its market share from 27.1% to 27.8%. Over nine months the group reached 379,936 registrations, up 13.9%, for a 29.9% share against 28.6% a year earlier.

The picture is narrower without Leapmotor. On Dataforce figures, Stellantis sales rose 7.5% in September for a 26.2% share. For the nine months, volumes excluding Leapmotor were up 6.2% and share stood at 27.7%, 0.7 points below the same period of 2025 — the group's own brands therefore grew more slowly than the Italian market.

Fiat remained the leading brand with 15,876 registrations in September, an 11.4% share and growth of 1.7%; its nine-month total was 144,464 units, up 1.8%, also at 11.4% share. The Fiat Pandina was the best-selling model of the month with 10,401 registrations and 7.5% of the market, with the Jeep Avenger, Peugeot 3008, Fiat Grande Panda and Citroën C3 in second, third, sixth and ninth place. Quattroruote singled out a Peugeot as the surprise of the September ranking. Antonella Bruno, managing director of Stellantis Italia, said the results “reaffirm the strength of our brands”.

BYD doubles volumes, Leapmotor multiplies

BYD registered 5,161 cars in Italy in September, up 108.9% year on year, for a 3.8% market share. It was the brand's fifth consecutive month in the country's top 10 and the fastest year-on-year growth of any marque in the month. From January to September the Chinese group registered 41,697 cars against 14,875 a year earlier, an increase of 180.3% and a 3.3% share.

BYD also led the NEV segment — battery-electric plus plug-in hybrid — with 5,161 plates and a 19.8% share in September, more than doubling year-earlier volumes; on a cumulative basis it holds 18.7% of the NEV market with 41,697 units. Plug-in hybrid registrations exceeded full hybrids for the first time, a shift that favours brands with broad plug-in line-ups.

• Leapmotor: 2,200 registrations in September, up 453%, equal to 1.6% of total passenger cars and 2.1% of the private channel.
• The Leapmotor T03 remained among Italy's most popular battery-electric cars, while the recently launched B03X became the best-selling electric model in the B-SUV segment.
• BYD in long-term rental: 1,406 registrations in September, up 56.7%, for a 4.6% channel share; 7,116 units over nine months, up 68%, with a 2.6% share.
• BYD's nine-month growth rate of 180.3% compares with 8.7% for the Italian market as a whole.

Dealers question the mix behind the growth

Massimo Artusi, president of the dealer association Federauto, said the increase in registrations is positive but that a close analysis of sales channels “reveals an underlying unevenness marked by contingent conditions” that alternate or accumulate from month to month, producing a monthly result of little value for forward-looking analysis.

According to Artusi, volume is carried largely by rental companies and dealers rather than by private buyers, who purchase “only if supported by significant incentives”. He compared the channel mix to a temporary patch on a malaise that prevents the market from regaining its normal certainty and stability.