Number of all-electric car registrations in Italy 2015-2021

Despite coming from a very low base, the number of electric cars in Italy continued its positive trend to exceed 67,500 new registrations in 2021. The same positive trend can be noticed with other alternative types, such as hybrid vehicles, specifically petrol-electric and diesel-electric vehicles. In total, new registrations of hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and range extenders reached over 497,200 units in 2021.

Electric cars gain market share

Recent climate change and environmental debates paved the way for tough environmental regulations in European markets, including Italy. Here, battery electric vehicle sales more than doubled between 2020 and 2021, and the market share of cars with all-electric propulsion increased from around 2.3 percent in 2020 to about 4.6 percent in 2021.

Perceived disadvantages of electric cars

Although electric cars may be seen as a part of a possible solution for mitigating air pollution, Italians reported some concerns against electric cars in a survey. Some of the mentioned disadvantages of electric cars concerned possible difficulties in finding a recharging point and the fear of running out of power. Only 11.3 percent of the respondents stated that electric cars do not have any disadvantages.