MODENA. «The main problem we have in Europe – he explains Giuseppe Redaellipresident ofMonza racetrack and the historic car commission of International Automobile Federation FIA – is the age of the car fleet, with the vehicles having an average age of 10-12 years. There are too many of them and the need is to renew, so it is positive that Italy is helping to eliminate a car from the streets that no longer meets safety standards, that pollutes a lot, that needs continuous maintenance.”
Redaelli starts from the glass half full, but also identifies problems: «The old incentives – continues the expert – allowed those who had greater economic availability to sell cars perhaps just two years old to purchase a brand new one at a discount. However, I am perplexed about the incentive of the electric car: the electric fleet covers just 1.5% of the total in Europe and is therefore numerically insignificant, therefore investing almost only in these vehicles may not be sufficient. Instead, compared to electric, it would be better to focus more on neutral fuels. In any case, I repeat: we need to renew because there is a road safety problem, faced with significant mortality, and newer cars obviously have more modern instruments that are also useful from this point of view.”
THE DEALERS
At center stage are obviously car dealers. «We are thrilled that the incentive portal is being launched – he says Luca Giovanni Criscigeneral director of “Campani Group” with offices in Modena, Sassuolo And Reggio – given that the government started talking about it in January and it opens on June 3rd. This timing certainly generated a disruption in the market as customers went on stand-by, rightly wanting to see the type and characteristics of the incentives. The slowdown in our sales was so high especially between April and May while starting from this week many customers returned to the dealership. Interest in electric cars is also increasing.”
Crisci broadens the topic to this typology: «Today the incidence of demand for interest in electric cars is around 8% of those aiming to change the car even if the actual sale is around 4%. In any case, we also show all customers who ask us for a petrol and diesel car quotes for electric and hybrid vehicles for comparison. However, I still have the doubt of how someone who has a Euro 1-2-3 car, i.e. one dating back to 2001, can then switch directly to an electric one. In general, if you have not yet had the intention of changing those very old cars… In any case, we provide a lot of information and explain that in certain cases you have the possibility of having an electric car and changing it after three years, however, we will soon arrive at a battery with autonomy up to 800 km”.
CONSUMER ASSOCIATIONS
Consumer protection associations also play an important role on the topic. «Having left six months without incentive coverage – he says Giuseppe Poli, transport manager of Federconsumatori Emilia Romagna – stopped the market and disoriented motorists. The government with this ballet of portal announcements that is now finally arriving has not been useful and so faced with the unknowns the motorist pursues with his petrol and diesel car, vehicles which make up 85% of the total. Furthermore, it must be said that, unfortunately, many see the EU obligation to have new cars with zero CO2 emissions from 2035 as a very distant goal that does not concern them. Furthermore, for electric charging stations, Italy, despite an acceleration that led to over 39 thousand charging points at the end of September 2023, with a capillarity of 7.9 points every 100 km of roads, a figure well below the European average equal to 12.3 points/100 km”.
