April 2023 it was a good month for registrations of traditional cars, but the sales of those electrical they remain at stake. According to data from the Ministry of Transport, in Italy, 125.805 cars were registered last month compared to 97.365 registrations registered in the same month of the previous year, up by 29,2%. In addition to the comparison with April 2022 at -33%, the progressive unblocking of orders that had remained unfulfilled in the previous months due to slowdowns in the supply chain, due to the microchip and raw materials crisis, also contributed to this result. Among the automotive groups they are growing stellantis (+ 24,6%), Volkswagen (+34,6%) and above all Renault. But in a climate of general growth, only the 3,1% of cars registered in Italy are pure electric.
It is useless to get around it: the Italians remain tied to the old heat engine. This is the only case of decline recorded in European market. In Germany, France and even Spain, registrations of electric vehicles continue to increase. And even beyond Europe for the electric car market promises to be a real one boom in 2023. Global Electric Vehicle Outlook 2023 published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) a few days ago, tells the story of the end of a century: that of oil. In fact, the report forecasts 14 million electric cars sold by the end of 2023, mainly in three markets: China, Europe and the USA. China is the frontrunner of a phenomenon that continues the rise of 2022 with a 60% share of electric cars on new sales. Europe follows with around 1 in 5 electric cars sold. The US increased electric car sales by 55% last year. Interesting signals are coming from India, Thailand and Indonesia. With these numbers, the IEA expects savings of 5 million barrels/day of oil in 2030.
The car market in Italy is still growing in April, but electric at a standstill
Going back to Italy, the car market grows in April: le petrol car they grew by 29,2%. This is the ninth consecutive month of recovery in registrations compared to 2022. A consolidated recovery, therefore, which however still has to face a 22,5% gap compared to pre-Covid. The sales of the LPG, at 8,3%: Dacia Sandero (2.520), Dacia Duster (1.428), DR 4.0 (1.046), Renault Captur (947), Renault Clio (832). The methane is stationary at 0,1% (Volkswagen Polo at the top but with only 23 sold), while the Diesel drops to 19,7%. While on the one hand the new registrations in April confirm the positive data of the last few months for traditional cars, on the other they testify to the setback of electric mobility in Italy.
Electric car sales returned to lows in April. There isn't a battery-powered car that has surpassed 500 registrations in the last month. There Model Y it stops at 480, also because Tesla concentrates deliveries in the last weeks of the quarter (in this case June). In second place is the 500e with 372 cars sold (a quarter of those sold in France in April). They follow the Smart, which goes towards the end of production, the MG4 , Tesla Model 3. The other 5 models that complete the top 10 do not reach 200 registrations: Renault Twingo (144) Renault Megane (143) Peugeot 208 (129) Listen Q4 (129). And while the electric does not take off, the ibride good performance with sales up 34,8%: Fiat Panda (6.859), Fiat 500 (3.587), Lancia Ypsilon (3.475), Ford Puma (2.624) and Toyota Yaris Cross (2.216). Worse even the plug-in hybrids, which rose to 4,8% against 5,6% in the same period last year. In the top 5 there are: Jeep Compass (878), Lynk & Co 01 (795), Ford Kuga (472), Jeep Renegade (357) and Volvo XC40 (334).
If you visit the web page of the site of the Mise it can be immediately seen that there are still many funds for incentives for the purchase of zero/low emission cars: 158.842.500 euros to buy battery electric cars and 213.337.750 euros for plug-in hybrid ones.
The incentives are there, but they are not enough to convince motorists
On the one hand there are those who are not worried about it, emphasizing that it is also good to replace the oldest car fleet in Europe with new, safer and less polluting vehicles, on the other hand those who instead point the finger at the slowness and problems authorizations in the installation and activation of charging columns. The problem, however, is always the Costs. An electric car costs significantly more than its petrol counterpart. The will to change is there, but at the same time we need to reduce prices, increase the presence of top-up points and change some rules for access to incentives.
In fact, the gap with Europe in this respect is growing rapidly. The share of electric cars in the main European countries has already been in double digits for some time, while in Italy we are still far from these numbers.
Electric cars April 2023: Dacia Spring wins in France
Just compare with the France. Beyond the Alps, the Tesla Model Y has been ousted from the top of the ranking of the best-selling pure electric cars. In favor of the little one Dacia spring. As mentioned, Tesla concentrates deliveries in the last few weeks of the quarter, leaving ample room for competition. Indeed, the Model Y finished in fourth place in April, with 1.333 registrations, preceded by the Spring (2.432), the Peugeot e-208 (1.563) and the Fiat 500e (1.365). However, the Tesla SUV retains its leadership in total sales for the first 4 months of 2023, at 10.697, immediately behind the Spring with 10.696 units sold. The e-208 follows with 8.248 and the 500e with 6.903. Returning to April sales, the top 10 is completed by Renault Megane (1.184), MG4 (782), Peugeot 2008 (638), Hyundai Kona (618), Zoe (567) and Mini (502).
