ROME – Italy continues to have an old and polluting fleet. Last year, 1 in 11 cars was over 30 years old, only 1 in 7 was eco-friendly and only 4.3% of the fleet in circulation was electrified. These are some of the main data that emerge from reading “Self-portrait 2022” – the Aci statistical publication which photographs the vehicle fleet of Regions, Provinces and Municipalities as of 31 December 2022.
In detail, out of a total of 40,213,061 cars in circulation, those registered before 1993 are 3 million 700 thousand, or 9.3% of the total. And for the most part these are Euro 0 which are now at least 30 years old. The regions with the oldest fleet in circulation are: Campania (17.6%), Calabria (15.2%) and Sicily (13.5%). While Valle D’Aosta (2.3%), Trentino Alto Adige (2.6%) and Veneto (5.8%) have the youngest park.
The analysis also shows that there are still too few eco-friendly cars in circulation in Italy, even if there is a slight increase compared to the previous year. The lion’s share is made by LPG engines, with 7.2% of the share (at 2,900,799 units), followed by 3.9% of hybrids (at 1,556,620 units), by 2.4% of methane (to 971,583 units) and by 0.4% of electric ones (to 158,131 units).
Overall, eco-friendly cars represent approximately 13.9% of the total fleet in circulation in Italy, compared to 12.4% in 2021. In percentage terms, Marche and Emilia Romagna are the greenest regions (with 23.7% and 23%), followed by Valle D’Aosta (20.7%) and Umbria (17.9%). The least ecological regions are, however, Sardinia (4.7%) and Calabria (5.6%). In absolute values, Lombardy is the region with the highest number of eco-friendly cars (800 thousand). Followed by Emilia Romagna (680 thousand) and Lazio (590 thousand) and, in the rear, Molise (24 thousand) and Basilicata (34 thousand).
Electrified cars alone (100% electric and hybrid petrol and diesel), however, represent only 4.3% of the fleet in circulation (3.9% hybrids and 0.4% electric). Although on average, at a national level, the increase between 2021 and 2022 was 49%, with peaks of 158% in Valle D’Aosta, 72% in Trentino (two regions where many rental cars are registered because registered offices of important companies in the sector) and 64% in Tuscany.