Companies at the forefront of the transition to zero-emission cars
The new regulation
From market fulcrum to industry lever. There is an additional burden of responsibility for company fleets, which are at the forefront of the transition process. They account for 60 per cent of the annual car registrations in Europe, some eight million units if one looks at the numbers for 2025.
As envisaged in the European Commission's proposal for a regulation on clean company vehicles, binding national targets, specific to each member state, have been introduced for the first time. They concern what Brussels defines as large companies, i.e. companies with at least two of these three conditions: a balance sheet of more than EUR 20 million, a net turnover of more than EUR 40 million and an average of 250 employees in one year.
In the case of Italia, at least 45% of new company cars will have to be zero-emission by 2030, while considering also low emissions (up to 50 g/km CO₂), the share will have to be 69%.
From 2035 the requirements are expected to become even more stringent, with the percentages rising to 80 per cent for zero-emission vehicles and 95 per cent for the combined zero- and low-emission quota, respectively.
Ambitious goals, but still intermediate when looking at other major markets. Companies will be called upon to rethink their vehicle acquisition and renewal strategies, with non-trivial organisational and financial upheavals. Fleet cars travel more kilometres on average than those used by private individuals: this is why they are considered a vector for electrification, as they reach the second-hand market and can reduce emissions and the average age of the fleet.
