Welcome to a new year of Auto For Dummies, the techprincess column that explains the car world in a simple way. Today is the time to take stock: we will discover the 10 best-selling cars in Italy in 2021. A very important fact to understand the market, the health of the car world in the Bel Paese and which models are convincing the public the most. As can be guessed, the Italian cars will be the masters, with two FIATs and a Lancia making up the podium, but there was room in 2021 for some surprises. Are you curious to find out which are the best-selling cars in Italy in 2021?
1st -FIAT Panda, the queen of the market has exceeded 110,000 cars
To know the 10 best-selling cars between January and December 2021 we relied on the data collected by UNRAE, the National Union of Foreign Motor Vehicle Representatives, the most authoritative source of data collection for the Italian market in our country. In the list that you have begun to sift through there are surprises and models that you do not expect, but at the top there is always her, immortal: the FIAT Panda. Also in 2021, FIAT Panda is the best-selling car of 2021 with an important margin to say the least. In fact, FIAT registered between January and December 2021 112,928 Panda specimens, well more than double the second classified, the “cousin” 500.
Despite being on the market since 2012, FIAT Panda continues to convince tens of thousands of people every year. Thanks to its jaunty aesthetic, its versatility and its ease of use, which makes it perfect for many people. Panda is excellent as a first car for a novice driver, as a small car to use in the city, even as the main car for a small family. For those who do a lot of km, there is no longer the vigorous 95HP 1.3 MultiJet, but the excellent 900 Twinair running on methane remains.
The legendary 1.2 Fire is still available on LPG, while the pulsating center of the range is the 70 HP 1.0 mild Hybrid. Fluid, docile and park, it is the perfect engine for those who use their Panda in the city. And if you are adventurous or live in the mountains, few vehicles are more capable and unstoppable than a beautiful FIAT Panda 4 × 4, like the Cross on the cover. Years go by, but Italy remains Land Of Panda.
2nd -FIAT / Abarth 500, the Electric pushes the Cinquino
An exponential growth of 41% to be precise. This is, in numbers, the FIAT 500 phenomenon in 2021. A car that now has three iterations, normal, Abarth and Elettrica, which despite an almost infinite story continues to please and convince not only in Italy, where it is in second place overall, but also in Europe, where it is firmly within the Top 10 absolute. The longevity of FIAT 500 is an incredible applause for the work done on a model that has represented the automotive history of Italy for over 60 years, and which in the 2007 he has found his worthy heir. In 2021, the FIAT 500, FIAT 500E and Abarth 595 triptych totaled 44,819 registrations: less than half of FIAT Panda, but enough to earn second place by right.
After almost 15 years, the FIAT 500 is now closer to being a youngtimer than being a new model. Despite this, however, its characteristics still make it one of Italy’s favorite cars. The raised drive, the cheeky and unmistakable aesthetics, the very easy and fun driving and the fair price of the best-selling versions make the 500 a car that continues to please, even with 15 springs on the shoulders. However, the new FIAT 500E, the completely new electric version that revolutionizes several aspects, has also revived its name.
More technological, more mature, better done, more grown up to drive and exclusively electric, the 500E however embodies the friendliness, versatility, joy and immortal aesthetics of the 500, bringing it among electric cars. The contribution of the electric version at the end of the year was excellent: with almost 11,000 units sold, the FIAT 500E is the best-selling electric in Italy. As you can see, however, the bulk of sales are still represented by the 500 thermal and the Abarth sports car, which alone would have easily achieved the Top 5. Will it be able to get even closer to the Panda?
3 ° -Lancia Ypsilon, the highlander of the Italian market
The podium of the Italian market, as has been the tradition for decades, is chaired by three cars from the Bel Paese, and at the third place among the best-selling cars in Italy in 2021 we find the beloved Lancia Ypsilon. Like the 500, it is a car that is quite advanced in years: in 2022 it will turn 11, and with the 500 (thermal, of course) it shares an aesthetic that has never changed so much, the mechanical base of the Panda 169 and the production plant. of Tychy, Poland. Despite a technological, mechanical and qualitative baggage lower (and not a little) compared to its younger rivals, the Lancia Ypsilon continues to hold its own, and indeed continues to grow in sales volumes. In fact, 43,745 Lancia Ypsilons were sold in Italy in 2021, just over 1,000 units from the 500 / Abarth 595 / 500E trio.
How is it possible? Meanwhile, Ypsilon inherited the role of “Italian small car” from the late FIAT Punto, which left us in 2018. From that moment, in fact, Ypsilon is the Italian answer to small cars with 5 doors and more space than the Panda and 500 All this despite its very small size: Ypsilon does not exceed 3.85 m, in a world where Polo, Clio and 208 far exceed 4 meters. What it cannot give in space, however, Ypsilon gives it in agility, ease of parking, a high and raised position and a mechanics and a practical environment, essential but not spartan.
The attention to the slightly chic aesthetics, the refined details here and there and the image of the most fashionable subcompact car made the fortune of Ypsilon, who with 11 springs on its shoulders it sells like never before. The credit is also due to the minimal restyling it obtained between 2020 and 2021, which brought LED daytime running lights, the new 1.0 Hybrid engine 70hp lightweight hybrid that consumes little and pushes just the right thing. Despite the criticism, Ypsilon continues to march and sell, and alone has kept the Lancia brand afloat, which in the next few years will come back to life with new models and new ambitions.
4th – Jeep Renegade, the American Made in Melfi wins fourth place
After three Italians, in fourth place among the best-selling cars in Italy in 2021 there is a true American. If we had said it 20 years ago, we would have been taken for fools. However, it must be said that Jeep Renegade she is a special American. First of all, the Yankee compact SUV was developed on Italian mechanics and platform, since Jeep has been part of the FCA Group since 2011. More, Jeep Renegade is more Italian than FIAT 500 and Lancia Ypsilon: it has been produced since 2015 in the Lucanian plant in Melfi, where he was born together with his cousin FIAT 500X. With 35,334 registrations, Jeep Renegade takes home the wooden medal, making it the first midsize car in the standings.
The merit of this success is to be attributed to one incredibly successful line, appreciated by everyone in Italy and beyond. In addition, the very raised driving position, the unmistakably Jeep distinctive features and the decidedly good driveability have always made it an excellent choice for those looking for a spacious and practical car, but with a pinch of extra character. Six years after its launch, Jeep Renegade got a makeover in 2019, introducing the new 1.0 and 1.3-liter FireFly turbofan engines, and the highly acclaimed 4xe plug-in Hybrid version.
According to UNRAE data, in fact, Jeep Renegade is Italy’s second best-selling plug-in car in 2021 with over 6,000 registrations, second only to another car in this ranking. The 4xe version (the only one with all-wheel drive currently on the list) continues to convince several buyers, as does the entire car that achieves the best annual result of its career, with an overall fourth place to be proud of.
5th – Toyota Yaris, the Japanese hybrid closes the Top 5
We must reach the fifth place of the best-selling cars in Italy in 2021 to find a car that does not belong to the Stellantis-FCA galaxy. To the fifth place in fact we find a segment B car that has always had great success in Italy and Europe, but which with the fourth generation has really hit the mark: Toyota Yaris. The Car of the Year 2021 managed to achieve an excellent result, with 32,634 units registered in the last 12 months. The merit of this success is due to a very original and personal line, but which has broken the hearts of many.
In addition, the technology is now at the level of the best competitors, and if the space is no longer infinite as on the first series of Yaris, today the driveability is the reference. Pleasant and very well crafted, Toyota Yaris is the queen of the Segmento B in Italy, net of the small Lancia Ypsilon. It goes without saying, however, that its success is mainly due to its exceptional version Hybrid. Thanks to the hybrid engine, a Toyota trademark that has convinced hundreds of thousands of Italian customers over the last 15 years, Yaris Hybrid is the best-selling full hybrid in Italy.
Thanks to its revamped 116 HP system, the Yaris now also performs well outside the city, pushes very well and consumes very little. Nearly 29,000 Yaris sold this year are hybrids, confirming the success of the electrified motorization in the range. How can we forget the adrenaline-pumping GR version, which helped to give a new image to the small and tender Yaris.
6th -FIAT 500X, also from Melfi to conquer the SUV segment
Another daughter of Melfi who finds space in the Top 10 of the best-selling cars in Italy in 2021. We are talking about FIAT 500X, which gets the sixth place overall with 31,982 registrations between January and December. The Italian SUV has been on the crest of the wave for more than 6 years, but over time it has been able to integrate the right innovations, including connectivity, technology and engines. We have not yet seen an electrified version, but it is rumored that a restyling should arrive in 2022 that will bring an aesthetic similar to FIAT 500E and a new 1.5 Mild Hybrid engine at 48 V.
Despite these rumors for the future, however, FIAT 500X continues to convince. This is thanks to a truly spot-on line, which combines the typical styles of the 500 world with that of SUVs, resulting in lively, original and fanciful. Inside, too, the space is good, and the cockpit is personal and unquestionably 500. The mechanical base …