ROMA (ITALPRESS) – In the most anticipated day from the automotive sector for several years, and in a context marked by geopolitical, macroeconomic and industrial crises that are redefining balances considered acquired, UNRAE launched today – at the end of the year press conference at Villa Blanc in Rome – a decisive and urgent appeal to the regulatory clarity for the sector.
In the coming hours the European Commission will communicate the contents of the new automotive package, which includes the review of CO2 emissions standards for cars and commercial vehicles, the European strategy on batteries, the Omnibus package for the simplification of legislation and the reduction of bureaucratic charges, as well as the new proposals for the green transition of business fleets. Among the possible most relevant and structural interventions – on which UNRAE expresses full convergence – should include: a “three-lane” regulatory model, with custom-made policies for cars, light commercial vehicles and heavy vehicles; a more pragmatic approach to the market on CO2 taret, recognizing the transition as a complex path that requires realistic and non-punishing tools; measures that encourage access to the transition of mobility by families and enterprises, towards small, efficient and accessible cars; opening up to “bridge” technologies to help reduce emissions.
“In recent years Europe has set targets without investing sufficiently in enabling factors. The short-term legislation of Brussels and the poor listening capacity for the building houses have placed enterprises and consumers in the face of perhaps too ambitious targets and not supported by adequate conditions. The transition was not accompanied by a European industrial policy: This is the true critical point of the target 2035″, says UNRAE President Roberto Pietrantonio.
“The goal of decarbonization remains indispensable – continues Pietrantonio – but requires a more detailed and data-based dialogue, as well as understanding the need to intervene on the enabling factors completely out of control of the Car Houses. It is the only way to define a realistic and pragmatic path, as UNRAE has been asking for years. Today, however, there is a change of step: a Commission more attentive to evidence, a greater will to listen and the awareness that ecological transition and industrial competitiveness can proceed together. It also serves a new narrative, overcoming simplifications and counterpositions between factions to support different technologies.”
With equal clarity, UNRAE expresses strong opposition to the hypothesis of introducing a minimum target of 70% “Made in Europe” for the incentive of demand.
“Competition is not built by raising walls, but by strengthening bridges. A 70% obligation is likely to penalize consumers, weaken businesses and slow down the transition and undermine the competitiveness of the European car at a time when it is essential to accelerate. The EU market is deeply integrated into global value chains: its strength is the opening, the ability to attract investments and innovation. A protective measure would have immediate impacts on prices, striking millions of drivers and hindering accessibility to sustainable mobility. It would also damage many European builders, today strongly integrated with international suppliers. The correct road is a real European industrial plan, based on structural investments financed by Community resources and policies that encourage sustainable production without penalising those who produce and purchase,” adds Pietrantonio.
UNRAE also underlines the urgency of reforming the tax treatment of corporate cars, calling it “the largest growth multiplier”.
“With a tax in line with European best practices in “green” – says Pietrantonio – the purchases of green corporate cars would grow, it would increase the spread of virtuous vehicles and accelerate the replacement of the circulating park resulting in a last generation use. They would benefit from environment, road safety, businesses and erasers.”
In the two-year period 2024-2025 the Government has, in fact, allocated 923.4 million euros to encourage the purchase of cars to zero or very low emissions, contributing to the registration of over 90.000 cars in the range 0-60 g/km. “But it is possible to achieve higher results with much lower resources,” says the National Union of Foreign Car Representatives.
According to UNRAE analyses, with limited adjustments to the tax parameters of the deducibility of the corporate cars it would be sufficient a commitment of 85 million euros to the cargo of the herb (net of the extrajettito) in order to encourage more than 100,000 green cars in the range 0-60 g/km, satisfy as many employees, accelerate the renewal of the car park and make, in a few years, the youngest, safest and most accessible. All with less public spending and widespread benefits for citizens and businesses.
An approach to the centre of the initiative launched in Turin last September, which saw the Associations of the sector converge on a concrete and shared recipe. A signal of responsibility and openness to comparison with the institutions to effectively address the structural knots of the sector.
“On the subject of taxation, a broad common front is being consolidated and we believe that this is the priority lever to achieve concrete and measurable results,” concludes Pietrantonio. “A measure capable of multiplying results by reducing costs, which deserves a comparison within a true dialogue with institutions and in places capable of making decisions.”
The prospective scenario of the European and national economy indicates in 2025 for the Euro area GDP growth to +1.2%, in further recovery in 2026, while the weakness of the Italian economy leads to estimate, despite the residual support of the PNRR, a much more modest increase both in 2025 (+0.5%) and in 2026 (+0.7%).
In the motor vehicle sector, the European market two years ago recovered the positive sign, which should be confirmed in 2025. In Italy, however, for the current year UNRAE previews a level of 1,520-1,525 million units: -2,2% on 2024 but 400 thousand units below 2019. For 2026 it previews a slight recovery to 1,540 million.
For light commercial vehicles, after an estimated 2025 down 4.4% to 190.000 units (aligned to 2019), it provides a stagnation in 2026.
For industrial vehicles, the estimate for 2025 is a slight decline (-2.5%), while the forecast for 2026 indicates a further decline of 2.9% to 27,000 units.
“Our country highlights a significant delay with respect to the European Major Markets in the diffusion of rechargeable cars, due to multiple gaps in the enabling factors of the energy transition: corporate car penetration, infrastructure development and charging prices,” says Andrea Cardinali, Director General of UNRAE.
“To date, we are above the EU average and far from achieving CO2 emissions targets. Only strategic and targeted interventions could generate a step change in favor of the transition in Italy,” he continues.
“Due to a penalizing tax treatment – UNRAE emphasizes – corporate cars in Italy have the lowest penetration among the 5 Major Markets: 46.8% vs 66.3% of Germany. A segment that, with the fast rate of rotation of fleets, is able to enter on the market more recent and technologically advanced cars. Italy is a taillight also for share of rechargeable cars (BEV+PHEV): 11.3% vs. 33.4% of the UK, 28.9% of Germany, 25.1% of France and 18.9% of Spain. The only share of electric cars as well is 5.2% compared to 21% of the other 30 European countries, and much lower than countries that have a GDP per capita in purchasing power parities lower than ours, such as Portugal (22.0%), Slovenia (10.4%), Spain (8.5%) and Hungary (8.4%), confirming that the limiting factors of the adoption of electric vehicles go beyond the only redditual capacities. Seppure in sustained growth in the last year (+24.0%), the development of public charging infrastructure nails Italy to the 16th place with 13,6 points per 100 km road towards the 20.4 of the European average. The data at 30 September indicate for our country about 67 thousand total points, of which 1/5 with charging power = 50 kW.
With regard to the market for use, despite 3 years of recovery, the report used on new is less than the other Major Markets: 2 used cars registered each new car, compared to 3.9 in the UK, 3.1 in France and 2.3 in Germany – UNRAE concludes. The total volume of new and used cars remains far from 5 million in 2019, to demonstrate that the lost from the new car market has not been recovered from the used one.”.
– Unrae press office photos –
(ITALPRESS).
