After years of continuous growth, 2025 marks a year for the first time decrease in prices of new cars. A slight reversal of trend, but significant in a delicate moment in the European automotive market, caught in the uncertainty of more stringent regulations, an electric transition that is not yet clear and accepted and a purchasing power that has been put to the test in recent years.
A start of descent
The numbers in this case are slight, but enough to fuel a bit of hope for the future: in December 2025, the average list price of all the models on sale in our country has dropped by1,2% compared to 2024. Not a percentage that could make one cry out for a miracle but which, compared to inflation, allows Italian motorists not to see their driving conditions worsen further purchasing power. The latter factor, which in recent years had progressively distanced many customers from the new market, pushing them towards used cars or towards alternative formulas such as rental.
The data is even more interesting if we consider that it arrives in a context that is anything but simple, with high industrial costs, enormous investments in electrification and demand that remains fragile.
First change of course since 2020
To understand how relevant this inversion is, just look back a few years. From 2021 to 2024, new car prices grew at rates not seen in decades. In 2021 the average increase was 3.9%, in 2022 it reached a very heavy +12%while 2023 had marked a further +9.1%.
An escalation that had many causes: supply chain crises, semiconductor shortages, rising energy costs, new mandatory safety equipment and, last but not least, the upward repositioning of many models, especially in the more compact segments. With the result that those who purchased a car between 2021 and 2024 paid significantly more than those who had done so before the pandemic. 2025, without overturning the picture, therefore marks a first, timid normalization. Not a return to the past, but a clear slowdown in the upward trend.
Many variables behind the real price
It must be said, however, that talking about price of the car today it is increasingly complicated. The price list is only part of the story. Between financing, final installments, long-term rental, trade-in promotions and temporary bonuses, the price actually paid by the customer is often very distant from the official one.
This makes it difficult to understand how the drop in price lists translates into real savings for buyers. In many cases, the houses have already started working on it some time ago more aggressive commercial formulasfocusing on indirect discounts rather than sharp cuts to list prices. A strategy that allows us to maintain the value of the brand, but at the same time stimulate demand that had cooled in recent years.
A signal not to be underestimated
The drop in prices in 2025 should not be read as a isolated eventbut as the possible start of a new phase for the car market. Manufacturers must return to dealing with real demand, less willing to accept automatic increases and more attentive to the relationship between price, technology and daily use.
For motorists, it’s a breath of fresh air. For the industry, a bell that signals the need to review strategies and positioning. The market remains complex and full of unknowns, but after years of only bad news, 2025 brings with it the first, concrete sign of a reversal. And that’s no small thing.
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