The Italian car market starts 2026 on a positive note: in January – according to data from the Ministry of Transport – 141,980 cars were registered, 6.18% more than in the month of 2025. In fact, in January, 9,321 full electric cars were registered in Italy, up 39.3% compared to the same month of 2025, also thanks to the deliveries of vehicles purchased with incentives sold out in two days last October. The pure electric market share thus rises to 6.6% from the 5% recorded a year ago. As of 31 January 2026, the electric vehicle fleet in Italy reached 373,683 units. The data was released by Motion-E. Overall, considering all fuel sources, the national car market recorded a 6.1% step forward in the month compared to January 2025, with 142,320 total registrations. On a European level, the latest available data indicates that in the whole of 2025 the market share of electric cars reached 20.1% in France, 19.1% in Germany, 9% in Spain and 23.5% in the United Kingdom. Last year the market share of full electric vehicles in Italy stood at 6.2%.
“The first months of 2026 will continue to benefit from the October incentive race, but in perspective the delay in Italy’s electric mobility risks increasing again”, observes the president of Motus-E, Fabio Pressi, noting that “in markets such as France and Spain the incentives for electric vehicles have been confirmed in their entirety and are contributing decisively to the stability of the overall car market, while in Germany bonuses have even been reintroduced with over 3 billion in funds, despite the powerful growth achieved from electric even without purchase incentives”. “In the absence of accurate planning of the tools to support demand, Italy seriously risks becoming a second-tier country on the European automotive scene”, warns Pressi, recalling first of all “the urgency of an intervention on the taxation of company fleets advocated by numerous stakeholders in the Automotive Roundtable last Friday, also in consideration of the targets proposed by Brussels for this decisive market channel, which in Italy is still based on a regulatory system stuck in the 1990s”.
Stellar sold in January – according to data processed by Dataforce – 46,452 cars, with a growth of 11.8% compared to the same month of 2025, almost double the entire market.
The share rises from 31.1% to 32.6%. In the ranking of best-selling cars, the first four positions are all Stellantis: in first place Fiat Pandina (13,394), in second place Jeep Avenger (5,133), in third place Citroën C3 (3,576) and in fourth place Fiat Grande Panda (3,299). In addition to Fiat, which recorded a share of 15.8% in the private channel, the best in the absolute market, Jeep, Citroën, Lancia and Opel grew by 4.9%, 3.1%, 15.7% and 12.4% respectively. Alfa Romeo did well with the Junior which rose to 4.3% share in its segment (up 0.7%). Peugeot, with 7,956 registrations, rises one position, from fifth to fourth place, in the overall Brand ranking thanks to the 3008 and 208. Leapmotor consolidates its rise in the Italian electric mobility market. In January the brand reached 1,118 registrations, obtaining 0.8% of the total market and 1.3% of the private market. A performance that marks an increase of 594% compared to the same month in 2025, positioning Leapmotor as the fastest growing brand. The most evident progress comes from the electric car market: in January Leapmotor conquered the podium in the private channel with 16.3% share, also confirming second position in the overall BEV market with 11.23%. Driving the growth is the T03, which confirms itself as the best-selling electric vehicle in Italy. In the commercial vehicle market, Fiat Professional was the Stellantis brand that achieved the best performance in Italy in January with over 3,544 registrations equal to 25.1% of market share, up 3.1 percentage points compared to last year. Among the models, the first two positions are occupied by two Fiat Professional vehicles, Doblò and Ducato, with 1,407 and 1,175 registrations respectively, which are the reference points in the compact and large segments respectively.
“The January result is positive, but it must be considered that it was also influenced by the incentives for the purchase of electric cars relating to 55,680 cars, partly also registered in November, December and January with a modest positive impact also on the registrations of the next two or three months. In January the share of electric car registrations was 6.6% which corresponds to 9,370 electric cars registered”. This is underlined by Promoter Study Center. “The incentives – he explains – are making their contribution, but their contribution is modest and, if we managed to maintain the January growth rate (+6.2%) for the whole year, we would reach a volume in the whole of 2026 of 1,620,000 units. A very low level if we consider that registrations in Italy in 2007 were 2,494,115, falling in 2013 to 1,304,842 due to the effects of the bankruptcy of Lehman Brother, to touch two million in 2017 and move to 1,917,106 in 2019, i.e. in the year before the coronavirus pandemic and which is the level we should exceed to return to an almost normal situation, but this goal still appears far away. It certainly cannot be thought that the quantitative level to which the Italian automotive market has been reduced is due to a disaffection of the Italian population in the years. comparisons of the automobile. The data do not tell a story of disaffection, but of great interest for the automobile. In 2000, there were 32,583,815 cars in circulation, in 2024 they have risen to 41,340,516 units (+26.9%). they are dangerous for people as they are less safe and highly polluting”. According to Gian Primo Quagliano, president of the Centro Studi Promotor, to get out of this situation “a great help could come from a European Union plan for the car that takes into account not only the sacrosanct environmental needs, but also the sacrosanct duty to protect the safety of citizens and to give jobs back to the multitude of workers and employees in the sector who have lost them”.
“After the difficulties of 2025, this first positive result fuels the hope that the current year will show a first, gradual but significant, recovery of the market, also thanks to the expected launch of new models in production in our country and the implementation of the support measures envisaged by the Mimit automotive fund, of which the multi-year planning of resources up to 2030 has been made known”. This is the comment of Roberto Vavassori, president ofAnfia. “At the round table on 30 January we highlighted, among other measures – he explains – the quality of the incentive package that citizens will be able to take advantage of for the installation of domestic and condominium charging infrastructures, which we believe to be an important tool to bring consumers ever closer to electric mobility. In reference to the EU Automotive Package, we instead firmly underlined how important it is that the revision of the Regulation on CO2 emissions from light vehicles takes a clear and pragmatic direction quickly, in order to correctly orient consumers. For this, we ask that the principle of technological neutrality be applied immediately – recognizing the contribution of renewable fuels from the entry into force of the revision and introducing a carbon correction factor (CCF) which allows the contribution of emissions reduction of vehicles powered by renewable fuels (liquid and gaseous) to be calculated – and that the targets for 2030 and 2035 be revised”.
“The closing of the month of January in positive territory must not lead us to think of a reversal of trend. In a market in which the private channel continues to offer signs of decline, to which are added the car registrations of dealers: prudence is a must, as the main channel, that of dealers, is in crisis and it does not seem that it will be able to start a recovery in the short term. We must stop demonizing the car, which remains a powerful instrument of personal freedom, adapt tax regulations to the best European practices and promote the distribution system for the important role it plays”. This was stated by Massimo Artusi, president Federauto.
“Positive, however – he adds – is the continuous shift in demand towards hybrid cars which we believe can also play an important role in the perspective of the strategic theme of the Automotive Green Deal and the directions to be promoted and developed for its review by the European institutions in the new path that follows the proposals launched in December by the EU Commission”.
“In a particularly delicate phase for the European automotive sector, it is essential that Italy can dialogue with the main European partners starting from common references. Today the Italian ECV market stands at around 15.3%, compared to the 27% or 30% of countries such as France and Germany, which represent key interlocutors in the upcoming discussions on the future of the sector”. This was underlined by Roberto Pietrantonio, president ofUnrae which requests reimbursements of the incentives (over 300 million advanced by the dealers).
“To fill this gap – he observes – concrete and effective tools are needed: a targeted reform of the taxation of company fleets – intervening on VAT deductibility, cost deductibility and amortization times – can give an immediate boost to the market, accelerate the renewal of the fleet and encourage the spread of zero and low emission vehicles, respecting a pragmatic approach and technological neutrality”.
Unrae “in coherence with the constructive climate of the Table, has renewed the invitation to the establishment of a joint, limited and continuous table between associations and institutions, aimed at identifying concrete, shared and effective measures to support the entire automotive supply chain”.
“The government must allocate more funds for eco-incentives, because today’s data demonstrates how similar measures have a positive impact on motorists and “green” mobility in Italy. This is stated Federcarrozzierithe association of Italian body shops, commenting on the data according to which in January there was a growth of +39.3% in registrations of full electric cars, as an effect of the incentives booked last October.
“The data confirms once again that the prices of electric cars are still too high in Italy today – explains President Davide Galli – and, without state aid, it is impossible for a large portion of the population to purchase an electric car. The incentives launched last year by the government are therefore also positive because they allow the aging Italian car fleet to be renewed, where the average age of the vehicles is around 13 years, with almost a quarter of the cars in circulation falling within the most polluting Euro 0-3 range. The incentives for citizens to the purchase of new low-emission cars not only allows us to reduce the impact of pollution caused by private transport, but also has positive repercussions on road safety, thanks to the standards guaranteed by new generation cars which allow us to reduce the number of accidents and the consequences of accidents, with savings for the community”.
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