Fiat: March Sales in Italy Were “Horrible”

Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne tells reporters that industrywide car sales in Italy were "horrible" in March, predicting that the country's market plunged 40% last month.

The company previously warned that the country's trucking strike, which ended March 28, had disrupted vehicle deliveries to dealers. Fiat said the result was sharply lower vehicles sales in Italy and a 10% reduction in Fiat's global market share.

The domestic market was already struggling because of Italy's economic woes and austerity measures. Sales fell 19% year on year to 130,700 vehicles in February.