Automotive industry in Italy

The automotive industry in Italy is a quite large employer in the country, it had over 2,131 firms and
employed almost 250,000 people in 2006.[1] Italy's automotive industry is best known for its automobile
designs and small city cars, sports and supercars. The automotive industry makes a contribution of 8.5%
to Italian GDP.[2]

Italy is one of the significant automobile producers both in Europe and across the world.

Today the Italian automotive industry is almost totally dominated by Fiat Group; in 2001 over 90% of
vehicles were produced by it. As well as its own, predominantly mass market model range, Fiat owns the
upmarket Alfa Romeo and Lancia brands and the exotic Maserati brand.

Italian cars won in the European Car of the Year annual award one of the most times among other
countries (including Fiat most that any other manufacturer) and in World Car of the Year award also.

Contents

1 History

2 Production figures

3 Manufacturers

4 See also

5 References

History

The Italian automotive industry started in the late 1880s, with the Stefanini-Martina regarded as the first
manufacturer[3] although Enrico Bernardi had built a petrol fueled tri-cycle in 1884.

In 1888 Giovanni Battista Ceirano started building Welleyes bicycles, so named because English names
had more sales appeal,[4] and in October 1898 he co-founded Ceirano GB & C with his brothers Matteo,
and Ernesto to build the Welleyes motor car. As they encountered challenges of scale and finance they
contacted a consortium of local nobility and business-men led by Giovanni Agnelli and in July 1899 Fiat
SpA purchased the plant, design and patents – so producing the first F.I.A.T. – the Fiat 4 HP. The
Welleyes / F.I.A.T 4 HP had a 679 cc engine and was capable of 35 km/h (22 mph).[5]
Isotta Fraschini was founded in 1900, at first assembling Renault model automobiles.

The automobile industry grew quickly and manufacturers included Aquila Italiana, Fratelli Ceirano,
Società Anonima Italiana Darracq - Darracq, Diatto, Itala, Junior, Lancia, Società Ceirano Automobili
Torino, S.T.A.R. Rapid, SPA, and Zust.

During the first and the second World Wars and the economic crisis of the 1970s, many of these brands
disappeared or were bought by FIAT or foreign manufacturers.

Fiat 124, 1967 European Car of the Year, the ancestor Soviet (Lada) and Turkish (TOFAŞ Murat 124,
TOFAŞ Serçe) mass car industry

Fiat 127, 1972 European Car of the Year, the catalyst of Spanish (SEAT) and Yugoslavian (Zastava)
automotive industry

Over the years Italian automobile industry has also been involved in numerous enterprises outside Italy,
many of which have involved the production of Fiat-based models, including Lada in Russia, Zastava and
Yugo in the former Yugoslavia, FSO (Polski Fiat) in Poland and SEAT (now part of Volkswagen) in Spain.

In the 1960s and 1970s Italy restored own large auto industry that was 3rd or 4th in Europe and 5th or
6th in the World. In 1980s Italy overtook the United Kingdom but has conceded to Soviet Union that, like
Spain, Poland and Yugoslavia, found large-volume production of cars by Italian FIAT help.

The 1970s and 1980s were a time of great change for the car industry in Europe. Rear-wheel drive,
particularly on family cars, gradually gave way to front-wheel drive. The hatchback bodystyle, first seen
on the Renault 16 from France in 1965, became the most popular bodystyle on smaller cars by the mid-
1980s. Fiat moved into the hatchback market at the small car end in 1971 with the 127 hatchback,
followed by the Ritmo family car in 1978. By the end of the decade, the more upmarket Alfa Romeo and
Lancia marques had also added hatchbacks to their ranges. The Italian motor industry's flair for
innovative design continued in the 1980s, with its Uno supermini (1983) and Tipo family hatchback
(1988) both being voted European Car of the Year mostly in recognition of their up-to-date and practical
designs. The Uno was one of the most popular cars in Europe throughout its production life, although
the Tipo was not so popular outside Italy.
The Uno's replacement, the Punto, was launched at the end of 1993 and achieved similar success to its
predecessor, while its earlier Cinquecento played a big part in boosting the size of the city car sector in
Europe during the 1990s. It entered the new compact MPV market in 1998 with the quirky six-seater
Multipla, having already entered the full size MPV market halfway through the decade with the Eurovan
as part of a venture with Peugeot.

In 1990s Italian auto industry became again 3rd in Europe and 5th in World with annual output near 2
million (with 2,220,774 maximum in 1989). But in 2011 it fell below 800,000 for the first time in half a
century and is now 6th place in Europe and 19st place in the World.[6][7][8]

Italy today remains one of the significant players of car design and technology, and Fiat has large
investments outside Italy including 100% stake in the American automaker Chrysler as of January 2014.
Fiat's fortunes have been helped since 2007 by the huge success across Europe of its new Fiat 500 city
car, although the 500 is manufactured in Poland and Mexico, rather than in Italy.

Production figures

Italian motor vehicle production[6][7][8][9]

Year Units

1913 2,000

1924 35,000

1928 55,000

1935 44,000

1950 129,000

1960 645,000

1961 759,000

1970 1,854,252

1971 1,817,000

1980 1,610,287

1981 1,433,000

1989 2,220,774

1990 2,120,850
1991 1,878,000

1994 1,534,000

1995 1,667,000

1996 1,545,000

1997 1,827,592

1998 1,692,737

1999 1,704,326

2000 1,741,478

2001 1,581,908

2002 1,429,678

2003 1,324,481

2004 1,145,181

2005 1,038,352

2006 1,211,594

2007 1,284,312

2008 1,023,774

2009 843,239

2010 838,400

2011 790,348

2012 671,768

2013 658,206

2014 697,864

2015 1,014,223

2016 1,103,516

2017 1,142,210

2018 1,060,068

2019 915,305

Manufacturers

See also: List of automobile manufacturers of Italy

Abarth

Alfa Romeo

Astra

B. Engineering

DR Motor

Ferrari

Fiat

Fornasari

Casalini

Iveco

Italdesign Giugiaro

Lamborghini

Lancia

Manifattura Automobili Torino

Maserati

Mazzanti

Pagani

Pininfarina

Zagato

Defunct manufacturers:

APIS

Aquila

Amilcar Italiana

Ansaldi

Ansaldo

Aurea
ATS

ASA

Autobianchi

Bandini

Bertone

Bianchi

Bizzarrini

Brixia-Zust

Ceirano

Ceirano GB & C

Fratelli Ceirano & C.

Ceirano Junior & C.

Ceirano Fabbrica Automobili or Giovanni Ceirano Fabbrica Automobili

Chiribiri

Cisitalia

Cizeta

Colli

CMN

De Tomaso

De Vecchi

Diatto

Fabrica Anonima Torinese Automobili (FATA)

FOD

Fabbrica Ligure Automobili Genova F.L.A.G. (aka FLAG)

Florentia

Ghia

Gecav

IENA

Innocenti
Intermeccanica

Iso

Isotta Fraschini

Itala

Maggiora

Moretti

Ufficine Nardi

OM

Osca

OSI

Qvale

Società Torinese Automobili Rapid (S.T.A.R.) badged as Rapid

S.C.A.T. (SCAT)

S.C.A.T.-Ceirano

Serenissima

Siata

S.P.A. (SPA)

Stanguellini

S.T.A.R. - badged as Rapid

Storero

Zust

Fiat Uno, 1984 European Car of the Year, eighth bestselling automobile platform in history

Fiat Nuova 500, 2008 European Car of the Year, 2009 World Car Design of the Year
Lamborghini Gallardo, bestselling Lamborghini in history

Ferrari 360, bestselling Ferrari in history

Ferrari 458 Italia, 2011 World Performance Car

See also

List of Italian companies

List of automobile companies founded by the Ceirano brothers