(Finance) – In June the car market in Italy returns to growth with a +15.0% recording 160,046 new registrations compared to 139,150 in June 2023. The first half of 2024 closes with 886,386 registrations, a growth of 5.3% compared to 841,573 units in the same period last year. Thanks to the new incentives, finally usable, and the availability of cars ready
delivery, BEVs show very strong growth, mainly due to purchases by private customers, with 4.7 points of share more than the previous month and 3.9 on June 2023, thus reaching 8.3% of the market. As for PHEV cars, the market share does not exceed 3.5%, a value almost stable compared to May, but down by 1.9 points on the same month of 2023.
“With the opening of the incentive booking platform on 3 June – states the President of UNRAE, Michele Crisci – the market has had a good acceleration. Unfortunately, since these were completed in just nine hours, many interested buyers were unable to take advantage of them. The allocation of just over 200 million from the fund for the 0-20 g/km CO2 range – continues Crisci – has proven insufficient to cover all customer requests, a situation that is reflected today in the acquisition of new orders, which are essentially at a standstill. Therefore, we expect that the 240 million in residual funds already allocated for incentives can be promptly made available by the Government, in order to promote the energy transition and reduce the ongoing gap with the most advanced markets. It is urgent that the Government indicates as soon as possible which direction it wants to take to promote the transition path, both for the necessary and current refinancing of the fund, and on the strategy to follow in the next 2-3 years”.
To accelerate the energy transition – he reiterates the UNRAE – the revision of the tax treatment of company cars takes on fundamental importance, acting on the deductibility of VAT and the deductibility of costs, to be parameterised according to emissions
CO2, in addition to the reduction of the amortization period to 3 years, a path that can be achieved through the implementing decrees of the Fiscal Delegation.
“UNRAE hopes – he underlines Crisci – that inter-ministerial tables dedicated to taxation be convened as soon as possible, in order to review the tax regime for company cars. We have been asking for some time that this review be included in the decrees as soon as possible
implementing the Fiscal Delegation. This is essential to relaunch the competitiveness of companies in the automotive sector, as well as to enhance the contribution that they – thanks to the rapid replacement of company vehicles – can provide to accelerate the renewal of the vehicle fleet, contributing to environmental sustainability and road safety”.
Market structure analysis of the month, from the users’ point of view it highlights a private volume recovery, which brings them to 59.5% of the total market, gaining 5.3 points of share (55.0% in the cumulative, +1.4 pp). Self-registrations rise by 5.4 points to 13.6% share (11.1% in the 6 months, +2.4 pp). Long-term rental is in strong decline, falling by 6.7 points, falling to 18.8% of market share (20.7% in the cumulative, -5.2 pp); due to the drop in volume of the main Top companies, compared to a holding of the Captives. Same contraction trend for the short term rental, which more than halves the share in June
at 3.0% (-3.3 points and at 7.7% in the cumulative, +1.5 pp). The companies, with a slight positive sign in volume, closed the month of June at 5.1% (-0.7 pp) and the first half of the year at 5.4% (-0.2 pp).
Among the food, in June the petrol enginealthough growing in volume, drops 1.9 points and stops at 26.5% of the share, 30.2% in the cumulative (+2.4 pp). Diesel drops more than 1/5 of the volumes and drops by 5.7 points to 12.8% of the share in the month and to 14.6% in the first half of the year (-4.8 pp). LPG is growing steadily, rising in June to 10.1% of the total (+1.7 pp) and to 9.1% in January-June (+0.2 pp), methane with 77 units does not even reach 0.1% of the market in the month, while maintaining this share in the cumulative. Hybrid vehicles cover 38.7% of the share in the month and 38.9% in the 6 months (respectively +3.9 pp and +3.6 pp), with 11.1% for “full” hybrids and
27.6% for “mild” hybrids in June. As anticipated, BEV cars are growing strongly, thanks to incentives and ready-to-deliver cars, rising to 8.3% share (+3.9 pp and 3.9% in January-June), PHEVs are falling by 1.9 points compared to a year ago, to 3.5% (3.3% in the semester).
Segmentation analysis shows a June strong increase in volumes of sedans and SUVs of segment A, which rise to 12.5% and 2.9% of the total market respectively. In segment B, the share of sedans grows to 22.3%, while that of SUVs declines to 24.3% share. In the medium segment (C), both sedans and SUVs drop slightly in volume, stopping at 4.6% and 18.5% share respectively. Sedans in segment D recover, to 2.5%, while SUVs lose share to 5.9% share. In the high-end segment, sedans remain stable in share at 0.2% and SUVs at 1.5%. Finally, station wagons represent 2.5% of the
total, MPVs 1.8% and sports cars 0.6%.
From the point of view of the geographical areas in the month the North West returns to market leader with a 29.7% share (+0.8 pp, at 28.2% in the cumulative), the North East loses more than 3 points and stops at 29.1% share (33.4% in January-June), thanks however to the contribution of rental, without which it would drop to 22.6%. Central Italy rises by 1 point to represent 1/4 of the registrations of the month (at 23.6% in the 6 months), the southern area rises to 10.9% and the Islands to 5.2% (respectively 10.1% and 4.8% in the cumulative).
The average CO2 emissions of new registrations, thanks also to the growth in weight of BEVs, in June they showed a 5.5% decrease, falling to 112.5 g/km; 119.6 g/km in the first half of the year (-0.3%). The analysis of March registrations by CO2 band reflects the trend in the month of BEV and PHEV cars: the 0-20 g/km band represents 9.0% of the market, 2.8% the 21-60 g/km band (respectively 4.5% and 2.6% in the cumulative). The 61-135 g/km range represents 65.7% (67.5% in the cumulative), while the share of cars from 136 to 190 g/km rises to 19.1% and that of the range above 190 g/km to 1.8% (respectively 21.5% and 2.0% in the first half of the year).
“About 33% of buyers interested in purchasing a BEV electric car were left without incentives – comments Massimo Artusi, the president of Federauto, the federation of car dealers –. In a recent meeting at Mimit we asked, in addition to a refinancing of the lower emission band limited to citizens, an in-depth analysis of what happened on June 3, the opening day of the platform for entering reservations, to understand a phenomenon that is extremely unusual for the Italian market, especially in light of the dynamics observed so far. We will see the impact of this new edition of state incentives on registrations that will be recorded in the coming months and up to March 2025, but it is clear that without a shared strategy on how to support cleaner technologies, also considering the negative effects on prices determined by the additional increase in duties on electric cars imported from China, the questions that weigh heavily on the ecological transition remain unresolved. To offer a virtuous framework of action, structurally stimulate domestic demand and accelerate the modernization and safety of the vehicle fleet, avoid an inequality of market conditions due to incentives that work intermittently and a loss of competitiveness along the supply chain, a clear signal from the government is needed. As appropriately highlighted in the recommendations of the European Commission published last June 19 on specific budget policies for Italy, it is necessary to intervene on the Italian tax system by aligning taxation for company cars”.
“After the contraction recorded in May (-6.6%), in June the Italian car market restarts with a double-digit increase driven by the long-awaited new ecobonus – he underlines Roberto Vavassori, President of Anfia –. The impact of the new incentives on the market – observes Vavassori – derives both from the expected effect with the strong slowdown, since last January, of the registrations of rechargeable cars, and from the greater economic attractiveness and inclusiveness towards all categories of buyers of the renewed incentive formulas compared to the past. We hope that the sales trend can remain positive also in the coming months, so as to counterbalance the physiological reduction in volumes typical of the summer months, and that it can contribute, above all, to a growing diffusion of new green technologies and a more rapid replacement of old vehicles in circulation. Now that the work of the Automotive Development Table at Mimit is coming to a close, we are dedicating maximum attention to defining the priorities for intervention on the issues of increasing local production, production competitiveness, attracting production investments and new technologies to the territory and the reconversion of skills and employment development”.