Fiat has announced that it expects total Italian car sales to decline during May.

Gianni Coda, the head of Fiat Auto's Fiat-Lancia business unit, says he expects sales to fall by around 1.5 per cent to 180,000 in May from April's figures.

However, Mr Coda is confident that Fiat will buck the trend, with the launch of a number of new models this year expected to boost sales.

'We have suffered for the past year, but we are convinced we can get ahead again,' Coda said.

Fiat is struggling to reverse a slump in sales that has hit car manufacturers globally, and is now pledging to invest 2.5 billion euros a year into new cars.