(Finance) – In December 2024, 105,715 cars were registered compared to the 111,201 registrations recorded in the same month of the previous year, equal to a decrease of 4.93%. There were 472,071 ownership transfers compared to 416,680 transfers recorded in December 2023, with an increase of 13.29%. The global volume of monthly sales, equal to 577,786, involved 18.30% new cars and 81.70% used cars. These are the data released today by Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
A drop of 0.5% on 2023, but by as much as 18.7% on 2019, i.e. the year that preceded the pandemic and to which level the Italian car market is unable to return despite the fact that the GDP has already reached and exceeded the 2019 level.
“It certainly does not comfort the fact that the Italian situation – underlines the Promoter Study Center – does not differ significantly from that of the European Union whose definitive data will be released in mid-January, but which will record a decline in 2019 substantially similar to the Italian one, as the causes which have determined this situation are substantially similar and which are to be research in the European Union policy for the energy transition. As is known, unlike the rest of the world which, when it supports electric cars, does so through incentives, starting from 2035 the European Union has prohibited the purchase of cars other than electric ones regardless of the fact that if it were possible to have a fleet in circulation entirely made up of electric cars (and this could happen no earlier than the 1950s) the reduction in CO2 emissions would be 3.3% in a context in which the presence of all other gases in the atmosphere would remain unchanged to greenhouse effects, from water vapor, to methane, to halocarbons, to nitrous oxide, to ozone, etc.”.
Returning to Italian marketlittle comfort comes frommonthly economic survey on dealers conducted by the Promotor Study Center. In summary, at the end of December only 4% of those interviewed judged the acquisition of orders to be high, while for 80% the acquisition was at low levels and for only 16% it was at normal levels. Obviously this situation justifies strong concerns for the trend of car sales in Italy in the year that has just begun and on the other hand, from the same source, i.e. from the CSP investigation, we learn that in the next three/four months the sales of cars will increase only for 14% of the dealers interviewed, while for 38% the market will remain stable and for the remaining 48% it will be decreasing. Given this situation, the prospects for the automotive sector in 2025 (and for the following years) are certainly not positive and it should be noted that the effect on the automotive sector would be catastrophic if the European Union were to impose, even in the year has just begun, the billion-dollar fines foreseen for car manufacturers who have not respected the Union’s diktats regarding the production and sales of cars in the previous year which, in this case, is 2024. According to Gian Primo Quagliano, president of the Promotor Study Center, “instead of imposing billions in fines, the European Union should provide aid to car manufacturers to compensate for the damage caused by the policy adopted by the Union in the energy transition”.
“In December the Italian car market reported the fifth consecutive monthly decline (-4.9%) leading us to a year-end which, in line with forecasts, stood at just over 1,550,000 registrations, below the volumes of the the previous year and down by 18.7% compared to 2019 levels – he comments Roberto Vavassori, president of Anfia –. In addition to the weakness that remains in the market, we continue to be the only country with a huge gap between vehicles sold and those produced domestically. We expect 2025 to be still difficult and uncertain on both fronts, market and production, while the expectation for 2026 – also thanks to the results of the automotive development table at Mimit – is to finally reduce this gap, between a market that we want to return to be tonic and a production that will have to satisfy the demands of the market itself to a greater degree, with vehicles and components produced in Italy”. On the European side, – continues Vavassori – an urgent review of the path that will lead to 2035 and beyond is needed, and, from this perspective, we strongly support the government’s work with the Mimit non-paper and the work of ACEA and CLEPA to change in terms of flexibility and technological neutrality the current legislation. Like Anfia, we are firmly committed to bringing all members, with concrete measures to be agreed upon with the government quickly, effective support in the coming months, which are still expected to be complicated.”
“The transition towards zero-emission mobility shows no signs of acceleration: 2024 is also a wasted year. Registrations of pure electric vehicles (BEV) in December stood at 5.5%, a slight increase compared to 5 .3% in November but lower than the 6.0% in December 2023. 2024 closes with a BEV share of 4.2%, equal to that of 2023 – underlines theUnrae commenting on car sales data in 2024 and last December –. Plug-in hybrid cars (Phev) reached 3.4% in December, with a slight increase compared to November but decreasing on an annual basis, with an overall share for 2024 stopping at 3.3%, lower than 4.4% of the previous year. The total share of electrified vehicles (ECV) in 2024 stands at 7.5%, compared to 8.6% in 2023″https://www.Finance.it/DettaglioNews/169_2025-01-02_TLB/.”La low penetration of electric vehicles continues to raise serious concerns about achieving the emission reduction objectives set by European Regulations. UNRAE highlights the unsustainability of the targets in force from 2025, which could lead to penalties for manufacturers estimated by Acea at around 16 billion euros in the first year alone”.
“The year ends with a number of sales similar to 2023. But that was a year of growth, with a positive balance of 18% which had given us hope of returning to pre-Covid levels. However, this was not the case: in the end of a see-sawing 2024 – influenced by a late and occasional incentive policy – the final result is what we have before our eyes. The sales structure shows that only hybrids are doing well, while plug-in electrics are in very strong difficulty growth which would be even greater if it weren’t for the car registrations of dealers, often restricted by manufacturers – he underlines Federauto –. In the end, the effects of the incentives were in fact more than eliminated at the end of the year, precisely because – arriving late and isolated from an overall review of automotive policy – they contributed to disorientating the market rather than supporting it”. Federauto “more than incentives, what is needed is a fair and shared car tax policy, which brings order to the jungle of taxes that weigh on motor vehicles and redistributes the burden more rationally fiscal”https://www.Finance.it/DettaglioNews/169_2025-01-02_TLB/.”In the 2025 scenario, – continues Federauto – we hope that decisions will arise from the new European institutions regarding the Automotive Green Deal including, naturally, the revocation of the system of sanctions against builders who, despite the efforts and investments made, cannot find the answers in the market to a political program that is proving to be unachievable. In fact, if those sanctions were to remain, the consequences would be very serious and not only for the manufacturers. Because the latter, to maintain the percentages of zero-emission vehicles in a market that does not want them, will be forced to lower the production quotas of fossil-fueled vehicles (i.e. those that have the largest market) and increase the price to the consumer. Which will lead to a further decline in registrations and the downsizing of sales networks.”