Italy's 2012 new car sales at 30-year nadir

Italian new car registrations in 2012 fell to their lowest point in more than 30 years, information from the country's infrastructure and transport ministry showed Wednesday, as European consumers shied from making big purchases
Registrations in continental Europe's third-biggest market totaled 1.402 million units and a fall of 19.9% compared with the 1.749 million units sold in 2011
In December, 86,735 cars were sold, a fall of 22.5% compared with the year-earlier month, the ministry said
Italy's biggest carmaker Fiat SpA said the overall 2012 numbers hadn't been "so negative" in 33 years
In a statement, the Turin-based company said its brands sold almost 415,000 units last year, reaching a total market share of 29.6%, or 0.2 percentage point higher than in 2011
As a group, about half of Fiat's European vehicle sales are in its home market
German automaker Volkswagen AG saw 2012 sales fall by 18.3% on the year