Italy, car market down 13.4 % in August

August saw the effect of incentives on the car market come to an end - they had grown by 15 per cent in June and 4.7 per cent in July - and recorded a drop in registrations of 13.4 per cent. This performance is partly due to two fewer working days in the month than in the previous year, but overall it reflects a phase of market stagnation in both Italy and Europe,

However, the overall result for the first eight months of the year remains in positive territory, at 1.8 million, up 3.8% on 2023 and down 18.5% on pre-Covid (2019) levels. The market therefore remains subdued and it will be difficult for the last four months of the year to reverse the trend.

It is surprising, in the data released today, that 67.9 per cent of the allocation for incentives for the purchase of cars with CO2 emissions from 21 to 60 grams per kilometre is still unused," wrote the Centro Studi Promotor in a note commenting on the data from the Ministry of Transport, "and above all that 32.3 per cent of the allocation for internal combustion cars (i.e. traditional cars) with CO2 emissions from 61 to 135 grams per kilometre, an allocation that in previous campaigns was burnt up in just a few days, is still unused.

In the month, all brands were in negative territory with a few exceptions such as Renault (+22%), Skoda (+15%), the Chinese of Mg, Tesla and a few others including Audi and Volvo. On the other hand, a negative month for the main brands, starting with Fiat, which was overtaken in sales for the month by Toyota/Lexus, Volkswagen and Dacia. The 'home' brand nevertheless remains first in market share in the cumulative (January-August), at 10.2%.

Among the most representative brands on the market, Renault (+15%), BMW (+21.3%), Citroen and Dacia, up 19% and 15% respectively, and Toyota, which together with the Lexus brand (united in the Mit table) improved their registrations by 35% compared to last year.