Gasoline Sticker Shock Fuels Fiat Natural-Gas Auto Sales: Cars
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For Fiat SpA, Italy’s austerity efforts have meant falling sales, stubborn losses and layoffs for thousands of workers. One business, though, has benefited mightily: the division that makes vehicles fueled by natural gas and propane.
Deliveries of those cars in Italy surged 90 percent to 114,226 vehicles through August, accounting for 11.6 percent of the market, compared with 4.9 percent a year ago. That’s good news for Fiat, which says it has 90 percent of the market for natural gas cars and 47 percent of the propane car market in its home country.