Italian passenger car production increased in the first quarter of the year, showing a trend reversal compared to 2025, Kallanish learns from preliminary data by automotive association Associazione Nazionale Filiera Industria Automobilistica (Anfia).
March car production rose by 7.7% year-on-year to 32,100 units. January-March output also increased by 9.3% on-year to 73,300 cars.
By comparison, the UK recorded a slight 0.8% y-o-y decline in March to 69,800 units and an 6.7% fall in the first quarter to 200,900 cars. Spain also saw a production decrease of 0.6% to 170,800 units in March and 4.7% in Q1 to 500,000 cars.
German production ticked up in March by 3% to 400,800 units but decreased by 2% to 1.1 million units in January-March, Anfia says.
The most recent data indicates that in 2025, French car production experienced a y-o-y increase of 16.6% to 1 million cars.
“The automotive sector is operating within a broader context of a slightly increased Italian industrial production in March 2026 compared with the levels of the same month last year. The overall industrial production index recorded a 1.5% increase in March and closed with a slightly positive figure (+0.5%) in the first three months of the current year compared with the same period in 2025,” Anfia says in a note.
“There is considerable anticipation ahead of the Stellantis Group’s industrial plan presentation… from which clearer indications are finally expected regarding the future of Italian plants, with hopes that production levels can gradually return to those appropriate for a market the size of Italy,” Anfia director Gianmarco Giorda adds.
In 2025, car output stood at 237,800, down by 23.2% y-o-y, Kallanish notes.
