Italy's BEV Market Grows 82% in Early 2025, But Gap with Europe Persists
Italy's battery electric vehicle (BEV) market is showing strong signs of recovery in 2025, despite the continued absence of new demand-side incentives. According to Motus-E, from January to April 2025, a total of 29,668 new BEVs were registered—a significant 82.2% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Nevertheless, BEVs still represent only 5.07% of the total passenger car market, highlighting the persistent lag behind other European countries.
Key Market Figures (YTD January–April 2025):
- BEV passenger car registrations: 29,668
- Total car registrations: 585,500
- BEV market share: 5.07%
- Total electric vehicles in circulation: 303,924
Leading BEV Models in Italy (YTD):
- Tesla Model 3 – 2,392 units
- Dacia Spring – 2,250 units
- Citroën C3 – 2,179 units
- Tesla Model Y – 1,518 units
- Jeep Avenger – 1,029 units
Market Channels (YTD BEV registrations):
- Private individuals: 41.5%
- Long-term rental: 31.5%
- Dealerships: 14.1%
- Company fleets: 7.6%
- Short-term rental: 5.2%
Regional Distribution:
- North-West: 10,149
- North-East: 8,028
- Centre: 7,325
- South: 2,826
- Islands: 1,340
While BEV adoption is progressing across the Italian territory, a clear north–south divide remains, with the majority of registrations concentrated in the northern regions.
Light Commercial Vehicles
The light commercial BEV segment also showed resilience in an otherwise challenging market. A total of 1,937 electric vans were registered in the first four months of 2025, representing a 3.3% market share out of 58,671 total light commercial vehicle registrations. This is a modest but meaningful increase, especially considering that BEVs over 3.5 tonnes have already exceeded their full-year 2024 volume.
Outlook
Despite encouraging growth, Italy's BEV market remains structurally constrained by the absence of a coordinated national strategy. Broader model availability, particularly in entry-level segments, is beginning to drive uptake, but a clear support framework—especially for private and fleet users—will be essential to scale adoption.
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Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of the European Commission.
