Italy is one of the largest European markets for the automotive sector. In 2017 new vehicles’ registrations accounted for 2.026 million vehicles (of which 1.970 million cars). In the first semester of 2018 the registration of new vehicles lowered, especially in July when the market registered - 7.2%.
Data processed between January and December 2017 showed a 7.9% growth of the vehicles production in Italy; new vehicles registration is positive for the whole year (+9%) and exports from Italy improved 13.6% (with sales worth 2.6 billion dollars). On the contrary, new vehicles registrations showed – 3.5% in 2018 (1,915,000 vehicles in total by the end of December)
The Italian automotive industry is mainly concentrated in Turin and in its Piedmont region: around 50% of the 2,600 companies (with 170,000 employees) active in Italy in this specific sector, including components’ manufacturers, are established there. The major Italian OEMs are FCA (cars and light commercial vehicles) and Piaggio (for two-wheel vehicles, also electric). FCA (Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles) is the only significant auto manufacturer producing cars and light commercial vehicles in Italy the rest is manufactured by Ferrari and Maserati (owned by FCA), by the Italian-Chinese J-V DR and by Lamborghini (owned by the German group VW). Some FCA models, such as Panda, 500 and Ypsilon, are manufactured in Poland or in Turkey, whereas the Alfa Romeo models are still manufactured in Italy.
From October 2018, FCA faces some problems such as low profitability, aging products and overcapacity at the automaker's European factories. Italy is the largest European market for new motorcycles (over 50 cc) and the second largest European market for new mopeds (under 50 cc). 204,406 vehicles over 50 cc were sold (82,475 motorcycles and 121,931 scooters) in 2017. Italy has the largest number of motorized 2-wheel vehicles in Europe (6,686,911 units).
Some U.S. motorcycles are sold in Italy, one of the most important is Harley-Davidson which is projecting Livewire. This model is a fully electric roadster that has the potential to thrive in a growing market. During the last edition of EICMA many innovations have been shown in the motorcycle domain. For instance, the Piaggio group officially presented the latest generation of an icon: the electric Vespa. This new model has a power of 4kw, it can reach 30mph and boasts an autonomy of 60 miles.
As said, alternative fuels vehicles represent a sizable share of the Italian car market (11.6%): almost 230,037 alternative fuels vehicles (Gasoline/LPG, Gasoline/CNG, CNG, Gasoline/Electric and Electric) were sold in 2017. In 2018 CNG and LGP sales decreased respectively of 40% and 6.2% while hybrid and
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