The automotive industry in Italy is a quite large employer in the country, it had over 2,131 firms and employed almost 250,000 people in 2006.

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such ...

is best known for its automobile designs and small city cars, sports and supercars. The automotive industry makes a contribution of 8.5% to Italian

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

. Italy is one of the significant automobile producers both in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and around the world. Today the Italian automotive industry is almost totally dominated by Fiat Group (now called Stellantis); in 2001 over 90% of vehicles were produced by it. As well as its own, predominantly mass market model range, Stellantis owns the mainstream Fiat brand, the upmarket

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "A ...

and Lancia brands, and the exotic Maserati brand. Italian cars won in the European Car of the Year annual award one of the most times among other countries (including Fiat most that any other manufacturer) and in

World Car of the Year The World Car Awards (formerly World Car of the Year, WCOTY) is a group of automobile ''Car of the Year'' awards selected by a jury of 82 international automotive journalists from 24 countries. Cars considered must be sold in at least five countr ...

award also.

History

Early history

The Italian automotive industry started in the late 1880s, with the Stefanini-Martina regarded as the first manufacturer although Enrico Bernardi had built a petrol fueled tri-cycle in 1884. In 1888 Giovanni Battista Ceirano started building ''Welleyes'' bicycles, so named because English names had more sales appeal, and in October 1898 he co-founded Ceirano GB & C with his brothers

Matteo Matteo is the Italian form of the given name Matthew. Another form is Mattia. The Hebrew meaning of Matteo is "gift of god". Matteo can also be used as a patronymic surname, often in the forms of de Matteo, De Matteo or DeMatteo, meaning " escen ...

, and

Ernesto Ernesto, form of the name Ernest in several Romance languages, may refer to: * ''Ernesto'' (novel) (1953), an unfinished autobiographical novel by Umberto Saba, published posthumously in 1975 ** ''Ernesto'' (film), a 1979 Italian drama loosely ba ...

to build the ''Welleyes'' motor car. As they encountered challenges of scale and finance they contacted a consortium of local nobility and business-men led by Giovanni Agnelli and in July 1899

Fiat SpA Fiat S.p.A., or ''Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino'' (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), was an Italian holding company whose original and core activities were in the automotive industry, and that was succeeded by Fiat Chrysler Automobi ...

purchased the plant, design and patents – so producing the first

F.I.A.T. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) was an Italian-American multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles, commercial vehicles, auto parts and production systems. The Italian holding company Exor was the largest s ...

– the

Fiat 4 HP The Fiat 4 HP (also known as the 3½ HP or 3½ CV) was the first model of car produced by FIAT, from 1899 to 1900 based on a third party design. Background The 4 HP is related to the Ceirano brothers—Giovanni, Ernesto and Matteo—who were a ...

. The Welleyes / F.I.A.T 4 HP had a 679 cc engine and was capable of .

Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini () was an Italian luxury car manufacturer, also producing trucks, as well as engines for marine and aviation use. Founded in Milan, Italy, in 1900 by Cesare Isotta and the brothers Vincenzo, Antonio, and Oreste Fraschini, in 19 ...

was founded in 1900, at first assembling Renault model automobiles. The automobile industry grew quickly and manufacturers included

Aquila Italiana The Aquila Italiana founded as the "Società Anonima Aquila" and quickly renamed as "Società Anonima Italiana Aquila" was an Italian automobile manufacturer from 1906 to 1917. The company was named again in 1909 after it was bought by bank as "A ...

Fratelli Ceirano Fratelli Ceirano & C was an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1901 by Giovanni Battista Ceirano and his brother Matteo Ceirano after they had left F.I.A.T. Their own automobile manufacturing business, Ceirano GB & C and its ''Welleyes'' ...

, Società Anonima Italiana Darracq - Darracq,

Diatto Diatto was an Italian manufacturing company founded in 1835 in Turin by Guglielmo Diatto (1804–1864) to make 'carriages for wealthy customers'. In 1874 Guglielmo’s sons, Giovanni and Battista Diatto, began building railway carriages for Comp ...

Itala Itala was a car manufacturer based in Turin, Italy, from 1904 to 1934, started by Matteo Ceirano and five partners in 1903. Ceirano family background The Ceirano brothers, Giovanni Battista Ceirano, Giovanni Battista, Giovanni Ceirano, Giovanni ...

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

, Lancia, Società Ceirano Automobili Torino, S.T.A.R. Rapid, SPA, and Zust. During the first and the second World Wars and the economic crisis of the 1970s, many of these brands disappeared or were bought by FIAT or foreign manufacturers. Fiat 124-Sedan Front-view

Over the years Italian automobile industry has also been involved in numerous enterprises outside Italy, many of which have involved the production of Fiat-based models, including Lada in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, Zastava and

Yugo The Yugo (), also marketed as the Zastava Koral (, sr-Cyrl, Застава Корал) and Yugo Koral, is a subcompact car, subcompact hatchback formerly manufactured by Zastava Automobiles, at the time a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav corporation. ...

in the former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, FSO (

Polski Fiat Polski Fiat (literally in English: ''the Polish Fiat'') was a Polish car brand. Under this brand, cars under licence of the Italian manufacturer FIAT were manufactured or assembled in Poland. Before World War II The brand was created in 193 ...

) in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and SEAT (now part of

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...

) in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. In the 1960s and 1970s Italy restored own large auto industry that was 3rd or 4th in Europe and 5th or 6th in the World. In 1980s Italy overtook the United Kingdom but has conceded to Soviet Union that, like Spain, Poland and Yugoslavia, found large-volume production of cars by Italian FIAT help. The 1970s and 1980s were a time of great change for the car industry in Europe. Rear-wheel drive, particularly on family cars, gradually gave way to front-wheel drive. The hatchback bodystyle, first seen on the

Renault 16 The Renault 16 (R16) is a D-segment family hatchback produced by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France. The Renault 16 was the first French winner of the European Car of the Year award. Market placement In the early 19 ...

from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1965, became the most popular bodystyle on smaller cars by the mid-1980s. Fiat moved into the hatchback market at the small car end in 1971 with the 127 hatchback, followed by the Ritmo family car in 1978. By the end of the decade, the more upmarket

and Lancia marques had also added hatchbacks to their ranges. The Italian motor industry's flair for innovative design continued in the 1980s, with its Uno supermini (1983) and Tipo family hatchback (1988) both being voted European Car of the Year mostly in recognition of their up-to-date and practical designs. The Uno was one of the most popular cars in Europe throughout its production life, although the Tipo was not so popular outside Italy. The Uno's replacement, the Punto, was launched at the end of 1993 and achieved similar success to its predecessor, while its earlier Cinquecento played a big part in boosting the size of the city car sector in

during the 1990s. It entered the new compact MPV market in 1998 with the quirky six-seater Multipla, having already entered the full size MPV market halfway through the decade with the Eurovan as part of a venture with

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

. In 1990s Italian auto industry became again 3rd in Europe and 5th in World with annual output near 2 million (with 2,220,774 maximum in 1989). But in 2011 it fell below 800,000 for the first time in half a century and is now 6th place in Europe and 19st place in the World.

OICA The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA; french: Organisation internationale des constructeurs automobiles), founded 1919 in Paris, is an international trade association whose members are 39 national automotive industry ...

Production Statistics
/ref>Ward's: ''World Motor Vehicle Data 2007''. Wards Communications, Southfield MI 2007, RITA

/ref> Italy today remains one of the significant players of car design and technology, and Fiat has large investments outside Italy including 100% stake in the American automaker Chrysler as of January 2014. Fiat's fortunes have been helped since 2007 by the huge success across Europe of its new

Fiat 500 The Fiat 500 ( it, Cinquecento, ) is a rear-engined, four-seat, small city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975 over a single generation in two-door saloon and two-door station wagon bodystyles. Launc ...

city car, although the 500 is manufactured in Poland and Mexico, rather than in Italy.

Logo

File:Pagani logo.svg File:Piaggio-logo.svg File:Pinifarina-logo-black.png

Production figures

Italian motor vehicle production

Manufacturers

Italian current automobile manufacturers include: *

Abarth Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing and road car maker and Car tuning, performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its FCA Italy, Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a ...

Astra Veicoli Industriali Astra Veicoli Industriali S.p.A. (Anonima Sarda TRAsporti) is an Italian company that produces trucks, heavy transport vehicles and military vehicles. Astra was privately founded in 1946 in Cagliari, and since 1986 has been part of Iveco. In 195 ...

* B. Engineering * DR Motor * Estrema * Ferrari * Fiat *

Fornasari Fornasari was an Italian car manufacturer that was created in 1999 by . The company made sports cars and SUVs. On 9 September 2015 Fornasari was declared bankrupt by the Tribunal of Vicenza. Models Model lineup: * Fornasari RR450, a three-door ...

Casalini Casalini (founded in 1939 by Giovanni Casalini), is an Italian company that makes mopeds and microcars. Casalini S.R.l. is the oldest microcar producer in the world. The factory is situated in Piacenza. The current range of Casalini microca ...

* Iveco *

Italdesign Giugiaro Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. is a design and engineering company and brand based in Moncalieri, Italy, that traces its roots to the 1968 foundation of Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A. by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani. Best k ...

* Lamborghini * Lancia * Manifattura Automobili Torino * Maserati * Mazzanti * Pagani *

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...

Zagato Zagato is an independent coachbuilding company and total design centre located northwest of Milan in Terrazzano, a small village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. The company's premises occupies an area of 23,000 square metres (250,000 sq ft)- 11,000 ...

Defunct manufacturers: * APIS * Aquila *

Amilcar Italiana Amilcar Italiana manufactured some French Amilcar automobile models in Italy from 1925 to 1928 under licence granted in 1925 to ''Compagnia Generale Automobili S.A''., of Rome to build cyclecars and in 1927 to ''Societa Industriale Lombardo Veneta ...

* Ansaldi * Ansaldo *

Aurea Aurea, golden in Latin, may refer to: * Aurea (car), a former Italian automobile manufactured in Turin from 1921 to 1930 * Aurea (singer) (born 1987), Portuguese singer * Aurea Alexandrina, a kind of opiate or antidote * Áurea, a municipality ...

* ATS *

ASA ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to: Biology and medicine * Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent * Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin * Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery * Anterior spinal ar ...

Autobianchi Autobianchi () was an Italian automobile manufacturer, created jointly by Bianchi, Pirelli and Fiat in 1955. Autobianchi produced only a handful of models during its lifetime, which were almost exclusively small cars, with the biggest being the sh ...

* Bandini *

Bertone Bertone is an Italian surname meaning "descendant of Roberto". Notable people with the surname include: * Alicia Bertone, American academic, researcher, and veterinary surgeon * Catherine Bertone (born 1972), Turkish-born female Italian marathon ...

* Bianchi *

Bizzarrini Bizzarrini S.p.A. is an Italian automotive manufacturer: in 1964 it was founded by former Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Iso engineer Giotto Bizzarrini. The company built a small number of highly developed and advanced sport and racing automobiles befor ...

Brixia-Zust Zust (originally Züst) was an Italian car manufacturing company operating from 1905 to 1917. The company was founded by engineer Roberto Züst, an Italian industrialist of Swiss origin, who owned a precision tool manufacturing plant at Intra, ...

* Ceirano * Ceirano GB & C * Fratelli Ceirano & C. * Ceirano Junior & C. * Ceirano Fabbrica Automobili or Giovanni Ceirano Fabbrica Automobili * Chiribiri *

Cisitalia Cisitalia was an Italian sports and racing car brand. The name "Cisitalia" derives from "Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia", a business conglomerate founded in Turin in 1946 and controlled by the wealthy industrialist and sportsman Piero Dusio ...

* Cizeta * Colli * CMN *

De Tomaso De Tomaso Automobili ltd. (previously known as De Tomaso Modena SpA) is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded by the Argentine-born Alejandro de Tomaso (1928–2003) in Modena in 1959. It originally produced various prototypes an ...

De Vecchi De Vecchi is a surname of Italian origin. Notable people with this surname include: * Carlo de' Vecchi (1611-1673), Roman Catholic Titular Archbishop of Athenae and Bishop of Chiusi * Cesare Maria De Vecchi (1884-1959), Italian Fascist politician ...

* Fabrica Anonima Torinese Automobili (FATA) * FOD * Fabbrica Ligure Automobili Genova F.L.A.G. (aka FLAG) * Florentia *

Ghia Carrozzeria Ghia SpA (established 1916 in Turin) is an Italian automobile design and coachbuilder, coachbuilding firm, established by Giacinto Ghia and Gariglio as "Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio". The headquarters are located at Corso Guglielmo Mar ...

* Gecav * IENA *

Innocenti Innocenti () was an Italian machinery works, originally established by Ferdinando Innocenti in 1920. Over the years, they produced Lambretta scooters as well as a range of automobiles, mainly of British Leyland origins. The brand was retired in ...

Intermeccanica Intermeccanica (formally Construzione Automobili Intermeccanica) is an automobile manufacturer, founded in Torino, Italy, in 1959 by Frank Reisner. It subsequently moved first to the United States, then to Canada, and is currently headed by F ...

Iso ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

Maggiora Maggiora is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara. Maggiora borders the following municipalities: Boca, Borgomanero, Cureggio Cureg ...

* Moretti * Ufficine Nardi * OM * Osca *

OSI OSI may refer to: Places * Osijek Airport (IATA code: OSI), an airport in Croatia * Ősi, a village in Veszprém county, Hungary * Oši, an archaeological site in Semigallia, Latvia * Osi, a village in Ido-Osi, Ekiti State, Nigeria * Osi, Ekiti ...

* Qvale *

Società Torinese Automobili Rapid Società Torinese Automobili Rapid, also known as S.T.A.R. and Rapid, was an Italian car manufacturer founded by Giovanni Battista Ceirano in Turin in July 1904. ''Rapid'' was its trademark. In 1921 it was acquired by the S.P.A. (Società Piem ...

(S.T.A.R.) badged as ''Rapid'' * S.C.A.T. (SCAT) * S.C.A.T.-Ceirano *

Serenissima aSerenissima ( heMost Serene) may refer to: Certain countries * , a name for the Republic of Venice * , the official Latin name of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Art, entertainment, and media * La Serenissima (musical ensemble), a Britis ...

Siata Siata (''Società Italiana Auto Trasformazioni Accessori'' in English ''Italian Car Transformation Accessories Company'') was an Italian car tuning shop and manufacturer founded in 1926 by amateur race car driver Giorgio Ambrosini. Siata initiall ...

* S.P.A. (SPA) *

Stanguellini Automobili Stanguellini was an Italian maker of small sports cars, based in Modena and founded by Vittorio Stanguellini; it was most active between 1946 and 1960. They continued to produce competition cars until 1981, when Vittorio Stanguellini ...

* S.T.A.R. - badged as ''Rapid'' * Storero * Zust File:Fiat Uno blue.JPG, Fiat Uno, 1984 European Car of the Year, eighth

bestselling A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

automobile platform in history File:Fiat Cinquecento.jpg, Fiat Nuova 500, 2008 European Car of the Year, 2009 World Car Design of the Year File:Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe - Flickr - The Car Spy (22).jpg,

Lamborghini Gallardo The Lamborghini Gallardo (; ) is a sports car built by the Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini from 2003 to 2013. It is Lamborghini's second car released under parent company Audi, and best-selling model with 14,022 built throughout its ...

Lamborghini in history File:2004 Ferrari 360 Spider F1 - Flickr - The Car Spy (10).jpg,

Ferrari 360 The Ferrari 360 (Type F131) is a two-seater, mid-engine, rear wheel drive sports car manufactured by Italian automotive manufacturer Ferrari from 1999 until 2005. It succeeded the Ferrari F355 and was replaced by the Ferrari F430 in 2004. D ...

Ferrari in history File:Ferrari 458 Italia - Flickr - Alexandre Prévot (21) (cropped).jpg,

Ferrari 458 Italia The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is a mid-engine sports car produced by Ferrari. The F458 is the successor of the F430, and was first officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was succeeded by the 488 GTB (Gran Turismo Berl ...

, 2011 World Performance Car

References