Electric car, the dream of sustainable mobility by 2035 is still far away
Despite it all, the personal car remains the predominant means of transport in our countryused by 84% of Italians at least once a week while 59% declare they always use it for daily travel for reasons of convenience. Followed by micro-mobility, which includes bicycles and scooters, with a share of 31%. Two-wheeled vehicles, such as motorbikes and scooters, used by 21% of users, shared mobility and car-sharing at 5%While public transport it is chosen by only 3% of citizens.
This is explained by the latest EY report, the Mobility Consumer Index 2024, an annual study conducted by the business consultancy firm on 28 countries, including Italy, with around 19 thousand respondents. Despite the numbers, the automotive sector is in crisis, especially in Europe, so much so that today Stellantis and previously Volkswagen have had to review their sales forecasts with strong repercussions on the share prices of stocks on the stock exchange. But what is happening? According to the report, potential buyers are disoriented given that the performance of electric vehicles in terms of kilometers traveled is still low and fast charging points (5,000 in Italy) are not widespread. Furthermore, these cars have higher costs than those with petrol or diesel engines which even the incentives cannot mitigate. Yet according to the report, the electric car but the purchase remains a difficult step even if the EU has set 2035 as the deadline for the sale of internal combustion vehicles.
In Europe, however, 57% of those interviewed (2% increase compared to 2023) would purchase an electric or hybrid vehicle. Numbers far from countries like China where 78% say they are ready to go electric, followed by Singapore at 74%, Norway and Thailand at 73% and Vietnam at 72%. In Italy in 2024 there is a decline in the propensity to purchase electrified vehicles (BEV, Phev or Hybrid) with 65% of those interviewed intending to purchase compared to 70% the previous year. Although decreasing, interest in electrified vehicles remains slightly higher than the average of the 28 countries surveyed (62%) placing it in sixth place in the global ranking. Examining motorization preferences more closely, we observe a slight increase in the propensity to purchase electric-only vehicles (BEV), which goes from 21% in 2023 to 22%, slightly below the global average of 24%. Regarding hybrid vehicles, the propensity to purchase drops from 27% to 23%, although it continues to exceed the global average of 21%.
“The Italian results – explained Giovanni Passalacqua automotive consulting of Ey Italia – cThey confirm a consumer inclination towards the purchase of electric or hybrid vehicles. This trend is fueled not only by the growing focus on sustainability, but also by the rising cost of fuel. Unfortunately, the high prices of the cars, in comparison to endothermic and hybrid powered vehicles, limit the development of the electric car market which in Italy will have a market share lower than 4% in 2023. While in other countries they are now a stable segment as in China (21.7% in 2023 and 25% from the beginning of 2024) and in Germany (17.5% in 2023 and 12.6% from 2024). Without subsidies, however, the market does not hold up. In Germany, in fact, the sudden removal of incentives caused a reduction in electric registrations, bringing the market share to 12.6% in the first half of 2024. In Italy, registrations increased in June 2024 by 116% compared to June 2023 once the announced funds linked to the purchase of BEV and hybrid powered cars have been confirmed and made accessible”.
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