Electric mobility? From field choice to mature technology

This classification leaves out plug-in hybrid cars (PHEVs), which doubled their market share from 3.3% to 6.5% in one year. Including PHEVs, the overall market share of hybrids is close to 51%: one in two newly registered cars is a hybrid. In 2024, the figure was 45.5%. As for the network of recharging points, which increased by almost 10,000 during the year, growth 'is not just quantitative but qualitative, since 50% of new installations in the past year are of the fast or ultra-fast type'.

The level of knowledge about the electric car market is low: less than 1 in 5 Italians consider themselves well informed (17%), and the main means of information is word of mouth rather than industry experts. Only 2 out of 10 Italians think that there are enough charging stations for electric cars.

There are also, the report points out, contrasting opinions on electric cars: 2 out of 3 Italians think it is important to own a car and are convinced that electric cars will become more popular if the infrastructure improves. 1 in 3 believe the price will go up and that electric cars pollute more than petrol cars, while 1 in 2 think they require expensive and complicated maintenance.

According to the survey carried out by YouGov for Repower, therefore, there are a number of fake news stories to dispel. Starting with the fire risk, one of the most frequently cited fears. "Data analysed in 2025 show that around 25 fires occur for every 100,000 electric vehicles sold, compared to more than 1,500 cases per 100,000 for petrol cars. In statistical terms, a thermal car is between 20 and 60 times more likely to catch fire than an electric car,' the study points out.

Another issue is tyre wear, which would cancel out the environmental benefits. Although the heavier weight of electric cars can increase tyre wear by around 20 per cent over the life of the vehicle, "by 2025 the overall balance is clearly in favour of electric: battery cars reduce braking dust to almost zero thanks to regenerative braking, largely offsetting rolling particulates".

On the battery lifecycle front, new EU regulations came into force on 24 July, the Report points out, which oblige manufacturers to recover batteries at the end of their lives and set ambitious targets: by the end of 2025 at least 65 per cent of lithium and 80 per cent of nickel and cobalt must be recovered from spent batteries.

Recent data, the report argues, 'indicate that modern battery packs lose less than 2 per cent of capacity per year on average, which means that after 10 years and more than 200,000 kilometres travelled, the battery still retains around 80 per cent of its original efficiency, often exceeding the service life of the body itself'.

Finally, the topic of the impact on the electricity grid. "Thanks to Smart Charging and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), electric cars are becoming an opportunity for grid efficiency: they can absorb energy when there is excess production from renewables (sun and wind) and return it at times of peak demand. Integrating BEVs into the grid turns them into a strategic resource for the community,' concludes the Survey.