Sustainable mobility in Italy is no longer new. Indeed, apparently it is a trend so well underway that Italians are now starting to imagine their future without owning a car.
Sustainable mobility in Italy is a seemingly complex matter. On the one hand, Italians’ love for cars (especially those with internal combustion engines) is evident: our country is first in the ranking for vehicles in circulation and, despite the incentives, we struggle to change cars. If, then, we have to do it, let’s not disdain second-hand. On the other hand, blue striped car parks, ZTL and Zone30 make car travel increasingly challenging, while public transport is not convincing and the safety of urban cycle paths still leaves something to be desired.
Yet, according to an analysis by Europ Assistance, Italians are not that far from the idea of abandoning four wheels.
The Auto & Mobility Barometer and Italians’ relationship with sustainable mobility
The belief that Italians are less tied to their cars than one might imagine emerges from the second edition ofCar & Mobility Barometeran online survey carried out on a sample of 8 thousand people in 8 different European countries (Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Austria and the Czech Republic), conducted by Europ Assistance in collaboration with Ipsos in order to analyze the relationship between citizens and mobility.
The investigation confirmed what was said above, namely that almost all Italians (97%) own a car. The highest percentage in Europe. However, well 41% of the sample he declared himself willing to give up your private car in favor of more ecological and sustainable means. This is especially true for the 18-34 year old range.
In short, there would seem to be great room for growth for sustainable mobility in Italy.
Sustainable mobility in Italy
To tell the truth, the trend of sustainable mobility in Italy is already well underway.
43% of those interviewed said they travel on foot with a greater frequency than 5 years ago (+30%) and 40% declared their intention to walk more in the next 12 months.
As regards micromobility vehicles, 48% of the sample uses the traditional bicycleWhile 25% prefer the electric one. Furthermore, 18% declared that they travel with their own scooter And 23% use bike sharing services or rental scooters. The use of these means appears to have grown by as much as 35% compared to 5 years ago. At the same time, the spread of insurance coverage linked to these alternative means has also grown.
What drives Italians towards change
Europ Assistance’s analysis highlights three main reasons behind the spread of sustainable mobility in Italy:
- The growing costs related to transport (33%): fuel, insurance, road tax and maintenance impact personal budgets and encourage the search for alternative solutions;
- Change of family situation (27%);
- Ecological reasons (25%): 77% of survey participants said they take into account the impact of their travel habits on the environment, while 64% (73% in the 18-34 age group) would already change them to make them more ecological.
Sustainable mobility in Italy: the role of cars
In the transition towards more sustainable mobility, the automotive sector cannot be ignored.
The electric car market is still struggling to growdespite the incentives: in January 2024 the EVs registered in Italy were just under 3 thousand, 56.6% less than the previous month and 11.6% less than January 2023. Despite this, the ‘Auto & Mobility Barometer reports a growing interest among Italians in EVs: 44% of the sample said they intended to buy one in the next year (the highest figure among the countries examined).
The elements that bring Italians closest to electric cars concern the possibility of saving on fuel and environmental reasons. In this regard, 73% of those interviewed say they agree with all those policies aimed at making cars less polluting. On the other hand, however, the costs of electric cars, the autonomy of the batteries, the lack of charging stations and charging services, the difficulty of installing private ones, still act as strong disincentives to purchase.
Article Modified On:April 30, 2024
