In a market still far from having digested the shock of the pandemic, the automotive energy transition continues to slip in Italy. Sales of new cars fell by 2.1% in 2025, to 1.5 million registrations, according to data published Friday by the Italian Ministry of Transport. The market also remains down 20.4% compared to 2019, the last year before the Covid-19 pandemic, recalled Unrae, the union of foreign manufacturers, in a press release. “The year 2025, although crucial, was another lost year for the energy transition”commented the organization.
Electric cars represented 6.2% of registrations in 2025 (+2 points over one year), a level still much lower than that of hybrids, which largely dominate the market with 44.4% of sales (+4.2 points), and plug-in hybrids (6.5%, +3.2 points). Thermal engines continue to decline: gasoline only represents 24.3% of the market and diesel 9.4%. At the end of the year, however, “in a suffering Italian market, electric sales were very responsive to the introduction of purchase bonuses”underlines Unrae.
Chinese manufacturers celebrating, Renault struggling
Chinese manufacturers have largely benefited from this dynamic. BYD, world number one in sales of electric vehicles in 2025, increased its sales sevenfold in Italy, to 23,621 units. Its compatriot Chery also recorded strong growth, multiplying its sales by five with its Jaecoo and Omoda brands, for a total of 15,450 vehicles.
The DR and EVO brands, which market Chinese vehicles assembled in Italy, together exceeded 27,000 sales (+ 3.15%), almost as many as Alfa Romeo.
Going against the trend, electric pioneer Tesla saw its sales fall by 17.91%, to 12,847 units, in a year marked by the controversial positions of its boss Elon Musk and by the update of its flagship model, the SUV Y. As for historic manufacturers, the Italian leader Fiat remained almost stable with 143,806 sales (0.04%), in particular thanks to the success of its Pandina hybrid. The brand is ahead of Toyota/Lexus (1.44%) and Volkswagen (7.6%). On the other hand, Renault, fifth on the Italian market, showed a clear decline (14.71%), while its Dacia brand, fourth, fell by 2%, in line with the market average.
