Monthly record for Made in Italy exports. But Chinese car imports have tripled and are worth over half a billion
Made in Italy at 61.7 billion with France and Germany taking the lead. Purchases of cars from Beijing (+252%) exceed 10% of the total from the world
by Luca Orlando
A decisive spurt, with an all-time record in current values, which brings the 2026 balance back into positive territory. In March, Italy's exports reached an all-time monthly high of EUR 61.7 billion, up 7.4% year-on-year, progress also visible in volumes, up more than four points.
Visible progress in non-EU countries (+5.1%) but especially in Europe, with France and Germany growing by 9 and 8% respectively in terms of purchases of Made in Italy.
Almost all sectors were positive, with the most significant growth achieved in the area of metals (+39%, boosted in values by the surge in prices), electronics (+17%) and cars (+16%).
In March, the economic trend, which is also positive, (+4.1%) is influenced by high-impact shipbuilding sales: net of these, Istat estimates a smaller economic increase of +2.8%. On an annual basis, more than half of the export growth is explained by increased sales of metals, particularly to Switzerland and France. With the arrival of this boost for4 the month of March, the balance of the first quarter becomes positive, with an average growth of 1.3%
In March, however, the effect of the US and Israeli attack on Iran is already well seen, with exports to Middle Eastern countries more than halved, a reduction approaching EUR 1.5 billion in absolute value.
