Sensational sales surge in Italy's new-car market

12 May 2026

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Italy’s new-car market surged forward in April, as electrified vehicles continued to provide momentum. More generally, other powertrains, sales channels, and even individual brands prospered. Tom Hooker, Autovista24 journalist, reviews the figures.

In April, a total of 155,145 new cars were registered in Italy, a rise of 11.6% year on year. According to ANFIA data, this was the market’s second double-digit increase in 2026. It also marked the country’s fifth consecutive month of growth. The result was boosted by an additional working day in April 2026 compared to one year prior.

Strong sales of electrified vehicles, including hybrids, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) proved pivotal. Additionally, private buyers were identified as the key growth driver in April.

‘Private customers were the main force supporting demand during the month, as the only channel to record double-digit growth. They accounted for almost 50% of all registrations in April,’ said ANFIA president Roberto Vavassori.

After four months of 2026, registrations increased by 9.8% in Italy, with 639,736 units leaving forecourts. This equated to a further 56,882 deliveries compared to the same period in 2025, according to Autovista24 analysis. ‘In light of the trend recorded in the first four months of 2026, we have revised our full-year forecast upwards. The market could now target volumes around 10% higher than in 2025,’ projected Vavassori.

Uncertain market environment

Despite the positive headline figures, industry experts have warned that the underlying market environment remains uncertain.

‘The market is moving but remains trapped by the fragility of the wider environment. Without a stable and predictable framework, demand is put on hold,’ said Roberto Pietrantonio, president of UNRAE.

‘Today, the real issue is confidence. Families and businesses are postponing decisions because the environment is changing faster than their certainty,’ he confirmed.

Confidence concerns are also currently a key theme for dealers in Italy. According to UNRAE, delayed government electric vehicle (EV) incentive repayments are leaving some forecourts financially exposed.

Usually, dealers discount the car for the customer upfront, expecting the government to reimburse them later. However, if repayment is slow, dealers can be left out of pocket.

‘Regarding incentives, the issue of Italy’s Environment and Energy Ministry (MASE) grant reimbursements is becoming even more urgent, given the significant financial exposure borne by dealers,’ stated the industry body.

Company car taxation changes?

Meanwhile, UNRAE also called for company car taxation reforms and clarified their high importance in determining Italy’s new-car market competitiveness.

‘We need urgent structural changes to reform vehicle taxation in a ‘green’ direction. This includes VAT deductibility, cost deductibility and depreciation periods,’ outlined Pietrantonio.

‘A gradual yet concrete approach should be adopted, starting immediately with the most effective lever, deductibility, to renew fleets and accelerate the adoption of zero- and ultra-low-emission vehicles.’

‘The taxation of company cars still rests on a framework designed for an outdated context that is now very different from the current one. Its structure no longer reflects either the evolution of the market or the objectives of the electric transition. Updating it today is not only appropriate, but it is necessary,’ he commented.

EV sales soar in Italy

Amid ongoing discussions around EV incentive reimbursements and greener company car taxation, current plug-in volumes in Italy are soaring.

Combining BEV and PHEV totals, this grouping enjoyed an 84.8% improvement in deliveries during April. A total of 27,142 new EVs were registered, translating to a 17.5% market share, up 6.9 percentage points (pp) year on year.

BEVs saw the greater growth of the two technologies, with a 98.8% year-on-year surge in April to 13,199 units. However, its 8.5% share, while up 3.7pp, was still behind the 9% held by PHEVs. This was thanks to 13,943 deliveries, an upswing of 73.2% compared to 12 months prior.

Between January and April, EV registrations increased by 85.6% year on year to 105,286 units. This accounted for 16.5% of overall new-car volumes, up 6.8pp. However, this was still 10.5pp below the share of internal-combustion engines (ICE), which combines petrol and diesel figures.

PHEVs enjoyed a strong improvement in the cumulative figures, recording a 99.2% rise to 54,000 registrations. The powertrain’s share grew from 4.7% to 8.4%, putting it 0.4pp ahead of BEV’s 8% hold. All-electric models posted a 73.1% increase in the first four months of 2026, with 51,286 deliveries.

Healthy hybrid market

Hybrids, including full and mild powertrains, continued as the driving force behind the country’s overall new-car market improvements.

The technology posted an additional 14,802 units in April 2026 compared to one year prior. This brought its total for the month to 75,775 registrations, a 24.3% increase.

Without hybrid sales, Italy’s new-car market would have recorded growth of just 1.6%. The powertrain took a dominant 48.8% slice of total deliveries, up 5pp year on year.

Its share in the cumulative figures is even more staggering. Hybrids made up 50.8% of all registrations between January and April, up 6.3pp from the same period one year prior. This was thanks to a 25.5% growth in volumes to 325,182 deliveries.

Adding hybrids to EVs, the electrified market is seemingly unstoppable in Italy. The grouping captured 66.3% of overall registrations in April, up 11.9pp year on year. After four months of the year, the groupings’ share reached 67.3%. This was up 13.1pp from the same period one year ago.

ICE market in peril

In contrast, the ICE market faced yet more declines in April. Deliveries slumped by 18.1% last month, with 42,851 units. As EVs and electrified models make strong gains, ICE’s slice of the market thinned by 10pp to 27.6%.

Diesel had a particularly poor month, with a 22.4% year on year drop in April to 11,122 units. It represented 7.2% of overall volumes, down from 10.3%. Meanwhile, petrol suffered a 16.5% decline to 31,729 deliveries, as its share fell by 6.8pp to 20.5%.

Things were even bleaker for ICE models in the cumulative data. Volumes plummeted by 19.5% to 173,016 units, while its hold on the market loosened by 9.9pp to 27%. This put it 40.3pp behind the electrified market, and 23.8pp behind hybrids alone.

Petrol’s share slumped by 6.8pp to 20%, after an 18% fall to 127,794 units. Even so, the fuel type remained Italy’s second-most-popular powertrain. It sat 11.6pp ahead of PHEVs, petrol’s closest competitor.

Diesel had an even steeper decline of 23.3%, with 45,222 registrations. Consequently, its share dropped from 10.1% to 7.1%. This puts it 1.3pp and 0.9pp behind PHEVs and BEVs, respectively.

Fiat leads the way

Fiat was the best-selling brand in Italy’s new-car market during April. The carmaker saw volumes soar by 31% year on year to 16,009 units in its domestic market. This ensured a 10.3% share. The Fiat Panda was also the country’s best-selling new car in the month, with 8,571 registrations. Meanwhile, the Grande Panda posted 3,685 units.

However, other Stellantis brands did not experience the same positivity. Peugeot endured a 7.5% delivery slump on its way to fourth place in the standings. The Peugeot 208 still made the top 10 best-sellers list, with 3,558 registrations.

Jeep faced a 4.3% decline in ninth, even with the second-best-selling model in April. This was the Jeep Avenger, which recorded 4,221 units. Meanwhile, Citroen suffered a 4.8% fall in 10th, with the C3 accounting for 3,503 units alone.

The second-best-selling brand in April was Toyota, with 11,369 registrations. This translated to a 7.3% year on year growth, matching its 7.3% market share. Its most popular model in the month was the Aygo X, which contributed 3,372 units to Toyota’s total.

Leapmotor’s four-digit delivery surge

Just 109 units behind Toyota was Volkswagen (VW) with a 1% improvement last month. The marque’s most popular model was the T-Roc, with 3,074 units.

Yet the carmaker’s rise paled in comparison to Audi’s delivery surge. Volumes grew by 15.5% at the fellow VW Group brand, as it took eighth in the best-sellers table. However, this was still not enough to beat BMW. Its German rival sat just 25 units ahead in seventh with a 4.5% registrations rise.

Dacia and Renault also placed close together, with only 318 units separating the two carmakers in April. The former finished fifth after a 2.3% delivery drop, despite the Sandero taking fourth in the best-selling models list with 4,040 deliveries. Renault enjoyed a 1.8% year-on-year improvement in sixth.

However, the biggest growth in Italy’s new-car market was seen outside the top 10 best-selling brands. Leapmotor saw volumes soar by 1,300.6% year on year, with its total translating to a 2.9% market share. Out of its 4,496 deliveries in April, 4,090 units came solely from the T03, which placed third in the best-selling models list.

Omoda enjoyed a similar surge of 977.4%, giving it a 2.5% slice of the overall market. EMC, while only holding a 0.2% share, recorded a 562.7% uptick in deliveries.

Then came Jaecoo, with 195.4% year-on-year growth and a 1.1% hold. Finally, BYD made up 2.9% of the market, just 76 units ahead of Leapmotor, after a 171.7% rise in registrations.

Sensational sales surge in Italy’s new-car market