Car incentives, dealers' pressure on the government. Where are the ecobonuses coming from?

Federauto and Unrae are asking the government, and in particular the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, to speed up the procedures for the publication in the Official Gazette of the Dpcm relating to the remodulation of incentives for the purchase of low-emission vehicles, the so-called Ecobonus, and to quickly activate the IT platform for booking incentives. "The prolonged wait for the publication of the decree in the Official Journal is causing serious consequences for the entire automotive sector, and the delays that have accumulated in the almost six months since the announcement are no longer justifiable," comment

"The critical nature of the situation," continue Unrae and Federauto, "is accentuated by the fact that on 1 February, now almost four months ago, the new incentive scheme was officially presented during the Automotive Table at the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, with a wealth of details on unit contributions, and that the incentives, which have not yet come into force, will cease to be operative at the end of the year. In addition to causing a climate of expectation and the consequent paralysis of the market, in particular with an alarming drop in demand for new zero- or ultra-low-emission cars, this unsustainable delay has brought to a standstill the activities of distribution networks, communication agencies, advertising concessionaires, finance companies and car rental firms. The normal operations of the companies gravitating around the automotive sector must be restored as soon as possible. Therefore, we urgently request that the Dpcm be published in the Official Journal by the end of this week. Similarly, we hope that, in the future, measures to support the sector will be structural and not so reductive as in the case in question," Federauto and Unrae conclude.

After months of waiting, shuffling of the text between ministries, and delays in sending it to the Court of Auditors, the new incentives for car purchases should in fact be published in the Official Gazette this week. The Dpcm allocates 950 million. But the proclaimed effect has penalised registrations and ended up exasperating relations between the government and Stellantis, who expected a much faster implementation. And the campaign in the end is likely to last half a year.

The incentives are up to 13,750 euro to buy a new electric car if you scrap an old car, from Euro 0 up to Euro 2, and have a family income of less than 30,000 euro. The maximum under the new mechanism. Those who scrap a Euro 3 can count on a 10,000 euro discount, which can go up to 12,500 on the basis of income. The same mechanisms apply to plug-in hybrids, while for thermals the subsidy is only available if you scrap them and there are no extras on the basis of income. It ranges from a minimum of EUR 1,500 to a maximum of EUR 3,000.