Italy registered 146,423 new cars in June 2026, up 10.6% year on year. The first half of 2026 reached 936,783 units, up 9.6%. Fiat kept its lead among brands, but the real mover was further down the model chart: the BYD Atto 2 reached third place among every car sold in the country, the nameplate’s best result yet.
BYD’s Italian sales rose 217% year on year to 6,057 cars in June, a 4.1% market share. That was enough to put the Chinese brand into Italy’s top 10 by brand for the first time, in 9th place, just ahead of Mercedes-Benz.
Best-selling models in Italy, June 2026.
Fiat’s Panda held its long-running lead on 8,255 units, and the Dacia Sandero kept second with 4,340. The Atto 2’s 3,780 cars put it ahead of Fiat’s own Grande Panda, the Peugeot 208, and every Toyota in Italy’s top 10 - including the hybrid-only Yaris Cross and Yaris.
Almost all of that came from one version. Of the Atto 2’s June sales, 96% - 3,637 cars - were the plug-in hybrid, which made it the single best-selling plug-in hybrid in Italy that month. The battery-electric Atto 2 accounted for the rest.
Other Chinese brands grew faster still outside the top 10: Leapmotor’s sales rose 932.5% and Omoda & Jaecoo’s 215.5%, though both remain far behind BYD in volume. Leapmotor’s own T03 closed out Italy’s top 10 models on 2,744 units.
One strong month does not confirm a trend, but the Atto 2’s result, combined with Leapmotor’s presence in the same top 10, is a sign Chinese brands are no longer confined to the fringes of the Italian market.
Source: UNRAE registration data, via Best Selling Cars Blog
