In 2023, Italy marks -3.5% in the electrification of company cars
Italy is the only European country, together with Malta, where the penetration of EVs in corporate fleets has a minus sign in 2023. Last year the decline was 3.5%, mainly due to the preference given to hybrid cars. A further detail that confirms the “Italian anomaly” on electric cars in the European context and especially compared to the major car markets such as the French and German ones. “The Italian car market works in reverse”he comments Andrea Boraschi of Transport & Environment, which today publishes a report onelectrification of company cars at EU level.
Corporate fleets in Italy are increasingly hybrid (and polluting)
The data on company fleets is important to understand how the mobility electrification curve is moving in Italy. “Large companies, which also have greater financial resources and could lead the transition, do not register enough electric cars”, explains Boraschi. Thus the driving effect that could revive the EV panorama is missing.
The market share of electric cars in Italy is 1/3 of the European average, stops at 4.2% against 14.6% in the EU. And the used market – another driving factor, which would make EVs more accessible to those with an average income and depends above all on the volumes of company fleets and leasing – is stuck at 0.5% of ownership changes. Positive signals come only from the development of the charging network, where we are among the first in Europe.
Companies give priority “to giant SUVs and polluting plug-in hybrid cars. There is a need for a clear change of direction, so we risk blocking the electrification of road transport in the country”adds Boraschi. The share of new registrations linked to businesses is 44% of the total, up from 36% in 2020. It therefore has a high specific weight. But corporate registrations of SUVs – segments D, E, F and G – are three times higher than those of private individuals. Thus the Italian company car fleet has a much higher CO2 intensity than the private one.
100% company car electrification by 2030, serves EU target
How to fix it? T&E suggests introducing a new EU target for 100% electrification of company fleets by 2030. “If the EU and Italy want to remain competitive in the global race for electric vehicles, they must find new ways to increase the uptake of these cars. The company car channel is perfect in this sense: its rapid electrification would reduce investment risks for European industry, guaranteeing greater market prospects. A regulation to support the electrification of company cars would be a positive measure for the climate, European industry and companies themselves,” concludes Boraschi.
