Rental between uncertainty and taxation: fleet growth but declining registrations

The rental car fleet has reached 1.4 million units in Italy. "Operators need a single industry regulation that overcomes the 'hidden duties' that hold back development and investment," says Aniasa at its annual appointment dedicated to the theme of mobility. The sector is suffering from uncertainties and the overall slowdown in the car market in Italy and Europe. In 2024, registrations fell by 15%, a figure that signals a crisis, in the context of a trend that is nevertheless slowed down (-0.5% registrations in Italy as a whole) but not so bad.

Despite this, however, rental is consolidating its weight on the market as it accounts for 28% of new cars, with a growing share of green vehicles: 32% of new electric cars and 48% of plug-in hybrids registered in Italy are rentals. The sector reached a turnover of 15.8 billion euro despite losing around 53 thousand vehicles last year).

The issue of taxation remains the real Achilles heel, which does not allow full development of the segment, in line with the main European markets. While in a context of strong transformation but with heavy uncertainties, new mobility models such as car sharing or short-term rental seem to be struggling to take off. "In order to move in this direction, our country must overcome the many 'hidden duties' that hold back development and investment in pay-per-use mobility, making sure it is ready in the coming months for three important appointments: the enabling act to reform taxation, the expiry of the three-year derogation granted to Italy since 2007 that blocks the level of VAT deductibility on company cars at 40%, and the national debate on the decarbonisation of company fleets," points out Aniasa chairman Alberto Viano.

Long-term rental in Italy boasts a fleet of almost 1.3 million vehicles, up on the past despite the drop in registrations. Noteworthy is the increase in contract durations (80% exceed 36 months), the return to growth of the private hire channel (+3%) and the steady increase in the light commercial vehicle business, now 225 thousand in the fleet (+7.5%).

At the end of 2024, the longterm services involved 268,000: 95,000 companies, 3,000 public administrations and 170,000 private individuals, with and without VAT registration, who chose to forego car purchases. "The sector needs specific and unitary regulations, which homogeneously and stably regulate all aspects, from registration to circulation, with a particular focus on taxation. Only in this way will the sector be able to effectively play its role as a strategic support for the renewal of the Italian car fleet and its progressive decarbonisation, while also allowing it to seize the opportunities of the European Automotive action plan,' emphasises President Viano.