BRUSSELS, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Stellantis, a Netherlands-based car manufacturer, reported robust performance in September with more than 200,000 vehicles sold, reflecting a 15-percent year-on-year surge in new car registrations, according to industry data unveiled on Friday.
The data, provided by the Brussels-headquartered European Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), revealed that Stellantis outperformed its rivals, such as the German carmaker Volkswagen that recorded a growth rate of 13.6 percent and France's Renault with a rate of 7.4 percent in the same period. Overall, Europe experienced a 9.2-percent year-on-year increase in new car registrations in September.
With these positive results, Stellantis expanded its market share in Europe from 16.6 percent to 17.2 percent. This performance came after a challenging year in 2022, during which the brand recorded its lowest overall sales volume in 26 years.
However, for the first three quarters of the year, Stellantis trailed its two major European competitors in terms of growth rate measured by vehicle sales. From January to September, Stellantis achieved a growth rate of 5.5 percent, much lower compared to Volkswagen's 23 percent and Renault's 20.6 percent.
Despite the positive September figures, Stellantis shares experienced a 2.4 percent decline, falling to 17.65 euros (18.69 U.S. dollars) per share on the Italian Stock Exchange on Friday.
The ACEA's data for Europe encompasses the 27 countries of the European Union, Britain, and the member states of the European Free Trade Association.
Stellantis was established in 2021 following the merger of Italian-American manufacturer Fiat-Chrysler and the French company Peugeot. The comparative sales data is based on the combined sales of Fiat-Chrysler and Peugeot before 2021. (1 euro = 1.06 U.S. dollars) ■