Car market remains buoyant, up 3.9% in July, but the boost from incentives is running out
123,000 new car registrations in Italia; total exceeds one million since January – Chinese manufacturers are leading the way and Fiat remains up 27 per cent, whilst the electric vehicle share plummets to 5.9 per cent
The Italian automotive market remains buoyant and, in July, continued to show the momentum that has characterised this recovery phase, with registrations up by 3.9 per cent for the month; since the start of the year, this has contributed to an 8.9 per cent increase in volumes compared with the period from Januaryto July 2025. In July, there were 123,000 registrations, bringing the total since last January to over one million.
The momentum generated by last October’s Ecobonus is waning, and the market is striving to maintain a growth trajectory in new car registrations, making up for delays in the renewal of the vehicle fleet and addressing uncertainties surrounding the transition to electric vehicles. Registrations of rechargeable cars rose by 36.8% in July and accounted for 16.5% of the market that month – a year ago, the figure was 12.5% – but whilst plug-in hybrids rose by 44.6 per cent in July and by 77.9 per cent year-to-date (market share at 10.6 per cent), electric cars, although up by 24.7 per cent compared with July 2025, have plummeted to 5.9 per cent.
Against this backdrop, the positive trend continues for the Fiat brand, which – within the Stellantis ‘stable’ – has grown by over 27 per cent this month and 29 per cent year-to-date, whilst the Group as a whole has seen a 1.1 per cent increase in volumes this month and a 6.2 per cent rise year-to-date. Leapmotor, the Chinese manufacturer distributed by Stellantis in Europe, has exceeded 25,000 registrations since the start of the year – aided by the impact of last October’s incentives – and has consolidated a market share of 2.4 per cent. Other Chinese manufacturers are also performing well, such as BYD, which came close to a 4 per cent share of registrations for the month, and Omoda/Jaeco, with a 3 per cent market share, whilst MG, part of the SAIC Group, saw a slowdown in July.
Among European car manufacturers, Renault is gaining ground, with registrations jumping by 10 per cent in July, whilst within the Volkswagen Group, the main brand has maintained its registration figures, although Audi has seen a decline this month, despite having maintained a growth rate of over 14 per cent since January.
