Car market grows again: incentives expected

The car market tcame back to double-digit growth in Europe in April, thanks in part to more work days. Electric car registrations increased by 14.8 per cent to 108,552 units, with market share stable at around 12 per cent. In Italy, on the other hand, the share of e-cars, which had reached 5.1 per cent in August 2023, dropped to 2.4 per cent also due to the pending dpcm on Ecobonus. The publication in the Official Gazette of the decree prepared by the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso finally seems to be on the start of arrival: incentives of up to 13,750 euro are envisaged for buying 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 Unrae reiterates the urgency of the incentives. "Inexplicably, almost four months after the presentation and six months after the first announcement, and after no less than three passages through the Corte dei Conti, the dpcm still does not see the light of day," says Unrae director general Andrea Cardinali. The Anfia hopes that 'the market will respond promptly' to the incentives as soon as they arrive, 'especially as regards the spread of zero-emission vehicles. The next five years, the duration of the future Parliament's term of office," notes president Roberto Vavassori, "will be crucial for the automotive industry in terms of competitive positioning with respect to the challenges of the green and digital transition already underway.

In April, 1,080,913 cars were registered in the Western European market, which includes the EU, EFTA countries and the United Kingdom, an increase of 12% compared to the same month in 2023. The overall figure for the first four months of the year is less positive: 4,476,369 cars were registered, 6.5 per cent more than in the same period last year. All five largest markets, including the UK, recorded a positive performance: double-digit growth in Spain (+23.1%), Germany (+19.8%) and France (+10.9%), followed by Italy (+7.7%) and the UK, with a more modest increase (+1%).

Registrations by the Stellantis group fell, selling 66,534 cars in the month, 1.5% less than in April 2023. However, the group remains second in market share in Europe, behind the Volkswagen group and ahead of Renault. The trade unions are worried about the future of Mirafiori and, two months after the strike of the Turin automotive sector on 12 April, have called for a new unitary mobilisation for 12 June. 'The crisis of the car market in Western Europe, which began with the pandemic and continued with the shortage of components for car production, the return of inflation and the effects of the energy transition, which led to a shortage of supply on the market, especially of the cars most accessible to the mass of potential Italian buyers, paving the way for the penetration of Chinese products, is not yet over,' explains the Promotor Research Centre.