Autotorino grows abroad

It is time to push technology and new markets for Autotorino, Italy's leading automotive dealer with 62 locations in Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Reduced by two years of growth in turnover, to 2 billion, the company led by Plinio Vanini, president of Autotorino, has archived a first half of the year characterised by the first acquisition abroad, which brings the number of employees to three thousand. "We chose Poland," says Vanini, "which has around half a million cars registered per year, is the fifth largest market in Europe and resembles Italy in the 1980s. We acquired a dealership previously managed directly by Mercedes and we think that Poland will play a key role in the future in view of the reconstruction of Ukraine, after the conflict, which we hope will come very soon".

During 2023 Autotorino sold 60,000 cars and carried out 600,000 garage repairs. During 2024, the Group plans to consolidate the brand dedicated to used cars - Bebeep l'Usato by Autotorino - and the weight of Autotorino in this segment, where it already operates as a market leader. Autotorino has fielded a team of employees - Autotorino Evolution - with 500-600 staff trained to manage the electric car market. And it has traditionally focused on services, to add value to the 'last mile'. And among the new initiatives launched in the North-West area is the Autotorino Kia branch in Novara, which doubles the offer of the Corso Vercelli showroom, which will join the group from 2021.

On the incentives front, a chapter that was opened at the beginning of June with the launch of the new Ecobonus family, the position of Vanini, who is also vice-president of Federauto, is very critical: 'This incentive system, which I consider to be the 110th of the car, is not working. Over time it has not increased market volumes and has not resolved the issue of reducing mobility emissions at all. On the contrary, the car fleet is ageing'. It is a non-inclusive system, 'which uses citizens' resources for the benefit of a few, and which still needs to clarify certain aspects,' Vanini adds. One thing is certain, it will have to be replaced with tax incentive mechanisms that can support the dynamics of faster replacement of the circulating fleet and can feed a second-hand market capable of progressively reducing overall emissions.

Among the approximately 270,000 employees in the automotive world, explains Vanini, "at least 90,000 are in distribution, double the number of direct employees in production. We are therefore talking about an important sector, which has seen a strong consolidation, going from 2,000 to less than 1,000 companies in 15 years, and which must embark on the process of growth, also in terms of size of the companies, opening a different page compared to the past. In a globalising market, either you have the strength to open up to new experiences and contamination of the business system or you really take risks'. The 'value' chain is shortening, therefore, leading to a reduction in the number of operators, at the same time the market and the distribution model is widening.