Success electric cars in Italy presents significant challenges, despite eleven months of growth in the automotive market. The reality of the numbers shows the continued growth of BEVs, in the face of a general market contraction. However, without adequate purchase incentives, the average buyer perceives this Electric cars have a high price for the Italian market. According to the UNRAE data, the failure of the fleet conversion does not depend on per capita income at all, but on the absence of strategies to reach the EU 2035 target that would be suitable for the Italian context. Michele CrisciPresident of UNRAE and Andrea CardinaliDirector General of UNRAE, presented data and market prospects during a press conference at the Luiss Business School, in which SicurAUTO.it participated.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN ITALY, EUROPE AND WORLDWIDE
The clear and central fact is that the Italian car market in November 2023 is still behind compared to 2019: Italy is down by 321,000 units, which is reflected in the balance -18.1%. However, to better understand the Italian scenario, we need to widen our focus and look at what is happening at the European and global levels. The car market forecast for 2023 is 85.2 million units (+8.0%) globally and 14.5 million (+11.3%) in Europe. The positive trend concerns mainly plug-in electric cars (ie BEVs and Plug-ins) 14.1 million units (+34% and 16% share) in the world and 3.1 million (+15% and 21% 4% share) in Europe.
In this in-depth analysis, there is global data on electric cars, charging stations, and batteries. In Italy, the share of BEVs and PHEVs stands at 8.9% (3.9% 100% electric), last among the 4 main European car markets, but also compared to other EU countries (11.9%). Click on the image below to see it in full width.
This stagnation is a direct result of an incentive policy without a strategy aimed at the efficient transformation of the vehicle fleet, and we will better understand why in the following paragraphs. “Using the automobile sector only for electoral purposes is something unacceptable because it means staying still’ he declared Crisci. Once the booking boom ended from January to June 2021, the Italian government reduced access to the allowance with a delay of several months, and the effect is visible in the following graph. In 2023, the funds used dropped to around 10 million euros on average, and economic uncertainty did the rest. Click on the image below to see it in full width.
Here, according to UNRAE data, Italy’s energy transition has stalled, as can be seen from the % trend sale of new cars in Italy on fuel in the last 4 years. While the engines Petrol and diesel followed by a gradual decline, approximately from 45 to 28% and from 41 to 15% respectively. cars Mild Hybrid and Full Hybrid (learn more about the differences in this video) decreased from a share of 5% (January 2019) to 38% (October 2023). Click on the image below to see it in full width.
FEW ELECTRIC CARS IN ITALY, BUT IT’S NOT A QUESTION OF INCOME
The price of cars today is significantly higher than a few years ago, but this is a direct result of the technological evolution that has introduced more security, convenience, and connectivity (in this article we talk about the costs of subscriptions to connected cars), as well as electrification. “Today, the car was born as a system, as Cloud Computing and later the rigs, tires and other things are put in”Crisci explains.
UNRAE demonstrates, data in hand, that the failure of electric cars in Italy does not depend on wealth per capita. Just look at Earth’s Purchasing power much lower than in Italy(e.g. Portugal, Romania, Lithuania, Slovenia, Hungary, Spain, and Greece) where % BEV is much larger. Click on the image below to see it in full width.
57% OF BEV BUYERS IN 2023 WILL COME FROM EURO 6
Michele Crisci emphasizes that the transition to more sustainable vehicles represents an opportunity for growth rather than a threat, and calls on industry and the sector to plan for this transition effectively. “But they are also useful more effective shopping incentives tailored to Italians”, Crisci points out. UNRAE analysis car against account from January to June 2023, shows that electric car buyers are users who are interested in new technologies. Buyers are most interested in switching to a car with zero emissions. Around 15% already comes from the electric car and almost 58% will change to a car approved for Euro 6B or later. Click on the image below to see it in full width.
“Who drives the same car for 0-4 euros for 20 years he doesn’t change because he obviously can’t afford a new car regardless of his diet” – underlined Crisci- “Eco-incentives for purchase should therefore be designed to decarbonize the fleet more efficiently”.
