Italy
Hybrid vehicle sales were 249,300, i.e. 18% of the total, in 2020 (116,414, i.e. 6.1%, in 2019). In December 2020 their share of the market increased to 26.8%. In detail:
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4.7%, in 2019). In December 2020 their share of the market increased to 19.2%.
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2019). In December 2020 their share of the market shrank to 2.3%.
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December 2020 their share of the market increased to 5.3%.
https://www.anfia.it/it/component/jdownloads/send/2-mercato-autovetture/237-122020-italia-focus-mercato-auto and http://www.unrae.it/files/01%20Analisi%20UNRAE%20struttura%20del%20mercato_Dicembre%202020_5ff34fe7bdd21.pdf
If the sale of hybrid and electric vehicles continues to increase, it is expected that the market share of these vehicles will grow well over 30% in the next years.
Incentives and limitations to accessing city centers (e.g. ban on old diesel vehicles) have helped promote the popularity of hybrid and electric vehicle sales. Recently, the Covid pandemic created a need for ‘emergency’ use of individual vehicles (often older vehicles) in order to reduce the use of public transportation. Therefore, for the time being, Italy is allowing older vehicles to continue to circulate to ensure social distancing among commuters.
National laws in summer 2020 and December 2020 supported through an incentives program the scrapping of 10+years old vehicles and replacement with new vehicles with low CO2 emissions. This is valid for both cars and light commercial vehicles. These measures are expected to increase sustainable mobility, the automotive market, and local production. The December 2020 legislation provided new car sales incentives until June 2021 worth 420 million euros (about $508 million) and light commercial vehicle sales with 70 million euros (about $85 million). Incentives vary according to the polluting footprint of the new vehicle. They can be worth up to 10,000 euros (or $12,100) for a vehicle emitting less than 60 g/km CO2. Scrapping old vehicles is clearly positive as it reduces the pollution footprint and increases the safety of the circulating automotive stock. On average Italy’s stock is more than ten years old.
The Birth of Stellantis
In January 2021, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Peugeot SA (PSA) sealed their long-awaited merger to create Stellantis, the world’s fourth-largest automotive group with an intention to shift to electric vehicles and to take on larger rivals such as Toyota, Volkswagen, and Renault-Nissan. The Stellantis Group currently owns 14 brands: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall. Some of these brands, such as Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Vauxhall, are found in smaller regional markets. For example, Alfa Romeo and Lancia are mainly sold in Italy or nearby countries, while Vauxhall is sold in the UK and some other countries with a left-hand drive. Not all these brands are expected to survive in the medium-long term if keeping them proves to be extremely costly. Altogether, FCA and PSA sold in Italy 537,485 units in 2020, i.e. 38.9% of total (752,253, i.e. 39.24%, in 2019), a significant portion of the local market.
Stellantis is expected to cut annual costs by over 5 billion euros (about $6.05 billion) without plant closures. Like all global automakers, Stellantis needs to invest billions in the years ahead to transform its vehicle range for the electric era. Other pressing tasks loom, including reviving the group’s lagging fortunes in China, rationalizing its huge global footprint and addressing massive overcapacity.
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