The Italian car market has posted positive figures for November, the third month in a row it has achieved an increase, with 150,587 new car registrations, up 2.2 percent year on year. In the first 11 months of the year 1,775,884 cars were sold, down 0.6 percent compared to the same period last year. The data are from the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and has been published by the National Association of the Automotive Industry (ANFIA).
In November, sales of diesel cars registered a 16.4 percent drop, while in the first 11 months of the year the decline was 22.6 percent, year on year. Sales of petrol cars, on the other hand, increased by 25.2 percent in the first 11 months. Sales of electric cars increased by 109.9 percent at the same time, while sales of hybrid cars went up by 30.7 percent, year on year.
Paolo Scudieri, president of ANFIA, commented, "In November, as in the previous two months, the market presents a positive sign, although with a more contained growth. Considering that from 2015 to 2018 average registrations in December were around 120,000 units, 2019 could close with 1.9 million new registrations."
Adolfo De Stefani Cosentino, president of Federauto, the Italian car dealers association, stated, "In our opinion, the correct picture of the market trend is expressed by registrations to private individuals, which in November closed with a very heavy downturn of almost 15 percent compared to November last year." According to the Federauto president, "There is growing concern that for car dealers the coming year will be very conditioned, perhaps too much, by the environmental policies imposed by the European regulator on car manufacturers."
"2020, with the entry into force of the new European limits on CO2 emissions and the related sanctions, will be an extremely critical year for auto companies, which are already committed to supporting investments of billions for electrification and automation," said Michele Crisci, president of UNRAE, the association of foreign car manufacturers in Italy.