Italy car sales down almost 20 percent in May

TRENTO, Italy (Reuters) - New car sales in Italy dropped by almost 20 percent in May compared with a year earlier, the chief executive of Italian carmaker Fiat said on Sunday.

Italy's Transport Ministry is due to release figures on new car registrations for May on Tuesday.

"The market fell by almost 20 percent compared with 2007," Fiat's CEO Sergio Marchionne told journalists on the sidelines of a conference. "We'll see that in May's data."

Marchionne reiterated that Fiat's share of the market was fundamentally stable and the company would meet its targets for 2008.

In April Italy's new car sales fell by 2.86 percent. Fiat, whose three main brands control about a third of the market, bucked the trend with a 1.4 percent rise.

Marchionne had said last week Fiat should be able to defend its market share in its home market despite an expected sharp drop in sales in May.

(Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by Mary Gabriel)