Electric mobility is going through a complex period. Northern Europe is leading the green transition, while Italy is trailing behind in Europe. Consumer propensity.

E-mobility is one of the pillars and facilitators of Europe’s energy transition, not just for the environmental benefits it offers, such as the reduction of CO₂ emissions and a shift towards a more sustainable energy system, but also as a model for innovation in key areas like battery technology and charging infrastructure. Despite this, the current state of the EV market is very complex. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that consumer propensity for sustainable mobility is falling due to increased scepticism.

Data from the IEA’s Global EV Outlook 2024, for the year 2023, reveals that there were almost 14 million new electric cars registered worldwide (full-electric and hybrid), taking the total number of cars on the road to 40 million. 3.5 million more electric cars were sold in 2023 compared with 2022, representing a 35% annual increase. This figure is more than six times higher than 2018, just five years earlier. More specifically, in 2023 there were over 250,000 new registrations per week, which is higher than the annual total for 2013 ten years earlier.

This growth continued even into the first half of 2024, as highlighted in the  Rho Motion report. EV sales have reached 7 million units worldwide, representing a 20% increase compared with the same period in 2023.

China leads the world, driving growth with 4.1 million electric cars sold in the first half of the year, an impressive increase of 30%. The Asian giant has consolidated its lead thanks to a booming domestic market, boosted by supportive government policies, incentives, and a widespread and advanced charging infrastructure.

In the United States and Canada, the market has recorded a growth of 10% with 800,000 electric cars sold. Even if the volume of sales is still far from Chinese levels, North America is showing a promising trend, supported by growing consumer interest and incentives that stimulate the transition towards low-emission vehicles.

2023 was a significant year for the distribution of electric cars in Europe, as highlighted by data in the Smart Mobility Report from the Energy & Strategy Group: around 3 million full-electric and hybrid cars were registered, indicating a 16% increase compared to 2022. This represents almost one car for every four sold, an increase that confirms the gradual transition to sustainable mobility. Italy has registered 137,000 electric cars, 47% of which are BEVs, representing a 16.5% increase compared to 2022.

The rosy outlook of 2023 looks less promising for 2024, with a slowdown across almost all of Europe. The fall in registrations continues up to the second quarter, with a reduction of over 13% compared with the same period in 2023. In Italy, monthly registrations dropped in the first eight months of the year, except for June. However, in general, there was a 12.3% decrease (from January to August 2024) compared to the first eight months of 2023.

According to the latest data from Motus – E, October showed another negative figure with a drop of 13.3% in registrations of full-electric vehicles compared to the same period in 2023. The market share of BEVs stood at 3.9%, slightly down from the 4.1% of the previous October.

The gap between Italy and the other European markets remains clear. In the first nine months of 2024, the market share of electric cars reached 17.2% in France and 13.1% in Germany, with monthly peaks in September of 20.4% and 16.6% respectively. The United Kingdom stands out with 17.9% in the first nine months and 20.5% in September.

Northern Europe, with nations such as Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands, leads the way in e-mobility, with a share of electric car registrations ranging from 45% to 90% of total sales, as highlighted in the  fifth edition of the  eReadiness report released by PwC Strategy&. From whichever angle you look at the data in the various reports,  Italy is unfortunately shown to be lagging behind the rest of Europe.

How can we explain the slowdown in electric car registrations in Italy? The causes for this situation lie, partially, in the  high initial costs, which still represent a significant obstacle despite the incentives available. Furthermore, the perception of the benefits of e-mobility in the long term are still limited, slowing growth in the sector.

Another critical factor is the irregular nature of incentive policies, which has created uncertainty in the market. In contrast to other European countries that have put sustainable, stable and well-structured policies into action, Italy lacks a consistent and coordinated strategy to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles.

This fragmented approach risks jeopardising the decarbonisation targets that Italy has set for 2030, making it difficult to reach the required annual threshold of over 800,000 electric vehicle registrations, an essential goal to contribute to the energy transition.

Not even the growing charging infrastructure can convince Italians to switch to electric - as of 30 September, the number of public charging points installed exceeded 60,000, an increase of 13,111 over the past 12 months and 9,661 since the beginning of the year.

If the gap between the infrastructure and the demand for electric cars is not bridged, there is a risk of finding ourselves with an underused charging infrastructure, incapable of fully supporting the transition.

The propensity for purchasing an electric car is without doubt a fundamental indicator for understanding the growth of the e-mobility sector and the challenges of the transition to low-emission vehicles. The eReadiness report offers an up-to-date analysis, examining consumer behaviour in 27 key markets. This study identifies three main consumer categories:

• electric vehicle (EV) owners – those who have already purchased an EV and generally demonstrate a high level of satisfaction, often motivated by long-term economic benefits, emission reductions and driving experience. This category should become the ‘Ambassadors’ for electric mobility;
• prospective buyers – a segment of consumers who are interested in purchasing an EV within the next 5 years, but are held back by factors like the high initial cost, the perception of an incomplete charging infrastructure and battery duration;
• sceptics – those that demonstrate significant resistance to the idea of switching to electric. The main concern for this group is the initial cost, charging times, battery range and a perception that the technology is still evolving.

The analysis shows that over 90% of electric vehicle owners in Italy are satisfied with their vehicle, valuing, in particular, the lower operating costs, as well as the charging and driving experience. Charging takes place at home or in the office in over 70% of cases, thanks to a wider availability of private parking spaces, and an increase in the power available on the public charging infrastructure, which in 52% of cases is over 22kW compared to 42% in 2023.

Unfortunately, a negative factor is emerging: in Italy the number of sceptics is on the rise (increasing from 28% in 2023 to 35% in 2024), an indication of greater consumer uncertainty and of a marked slowdown of interest in the switch to electric mobility.

A decisive relaunch of electric mobility requires long-term strategic planning and more incisive and continuous policies to favour the purchase of electric vehicles, including the simplification of the bureaucratic process, and the boosting of consumer confidence.

On the other hand, it is important to increase awareness around electric vehicles. Users must develop greater confidence in this technology that has reached a good level of maturity and that offers significant advantages, including reduced maintenance costs, tax exemptions (such as zero road tax for five years), access to historic town centres and the possibility to drive on restricted traffic days.