Fiat Professional boots sales by nearly 50% in the month of March compared to a year earlier.

Fiat Professional’s growing popularity in the UK is illustrated again this week, as new figures show a 44.2% rise in registrations in March 2017, compared with the same month last year. 

The sales results show that Fiat Professional, the commercial vehicle arm of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles UK, was the second most improved van manufacturer in March. The company’s market share rose by 0.7 % to 3.4%.

All Fiat Professional models’ sales performance improved last month, compared with March 2016, but the star of the quarter was Fiorino – sales were up 81.8 % in the first three months of 2017, compared with the same period last year. 

Fiat Doblo sales have increased by 49.9%, while Fiat Ducato registrations are up 14.0% for the quarter, and both ranges had increases in market share. Doblo market share in terms of retail or sales to small businesses rose from 2.8% to 6.7%, and in the Corporate channel, Ducato’s market share rose from 3.8% to 6.7%. 

The top-level Tecnico trim specification, which is available across all models and adds equipment such as satellite navigation, reverse parking sensors, Bluetooth hands-free connectivity and air conditioning, has proved to be very popular – sales have increased by 302% compared with the same period last year. 

“The sales performance figures are fantastic news, across the whole range,” says Alejandro Noriega, head of brand, Fiat Professional UK. “It is clear that, in addition to fleet sales, more tradesmen and small businesses are choosing our vehicles, as we continue to bring exciting new models to the UK. That way we can continue to improve and increase our market share.”

The Ford Kuga has it's best year ever beating 2014 by 35%, and three times as many as five years ago.

Over 30,000 Ford Kugas have been snapped up by customers this year, pushing the medium SUV to a new sales record. UK sales of the Kuga have increased by 35 per cent versus the same period in 2014, with three times as many sold compared with five years ago.

Ford data shows that 36 per cent of Kuga models were bought in the South of England across Essex, East Anglia, London, Southern counties and the M4 corridor*. Customers in the North of England bought 17 per cent while 5.5 per cent sold in Wales, 4.5 per cent across Scotland and 2 per cent in Northern Ireland.

The news comes as Ford increases the breadth of the Kuga range, including a new colour, Green Instinct, a new 120PS derivative of the 1.5-litre EcoBoost engine and new Kuga Titanium Sport model offering 18 inch alloy wheels, full body styling kit, rear spoiler and Active Park Assist.  The lead-in price for Kuga is now £19,995.

Kevin Griffin, Ford UK sales director, said: “Ford’s SUV line-up is going from strength-to-strength with a positive impact on Ford’s UK sales. With the new EcoSport reaching 10,000 orders so far this year and the range expanding to include the all-new Ford Edge, we expect SUV sales to treble by the end of 2016, compared with 2013.”

The Ford Kuga was first introduced in 2008 and since then 115,000 have been bought by UK customers.

Year	Number of Kuga Sales
2008	3,887
2009	10,173
2010	11,527
2011	10,496
2012	10,570
2013	13,904
2014	24,353
2015 (28th Nov)	30,156