Italy increases electric vehicle subsidies

The Italian government is launching a series of measures to tackle the pandemic economic crisis, including a temporary increase in subsidies for electric and hybrid vehicles.

The increase in premiums will apply from 1 August until the end of this year – for electric and hybrid vehicles up to a gross list price of 61,000 euros. Specifically, purely electric vehicles will be subsidised with 6,000 euros during this period instead of the previous 4,000 euros. Anyone who scraps their old combustion engine in connection with the purchase of the electric vehicle will even receive 10,000 euros (previously 6,000 euros).

Hybrids with CO2 emissions of between 21 and 60 grams per kilometer will be subsidized with 3,500 euros or 6,500 euros if an old car is decommissioned at the same time. These rates were previously 1,500 and 2,500 euros respectively. The increased incentives are financed partly by the state and partly by the car manufacturers. Germany, Austria and France had previously already initiated an increase in the premium on a similar scale.

Meanwhile, the fact that the government is subsidising not only electrified vehicles but also pure combustion engines is causing criticism in Italy. The cabinet’s original draft did not include cars with conventional drive systems, and the automobile lobby has been opposed to this. Now Euro 6 cars with CO2 emissions of up to 110 grams of CO2 per kilometre are also being subsidised. And this despite the fact that the stricter EU regulation that came into force this year sets a maximum limit of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

One of the organisations condemning the support for internal combustion engines is Transport & Environment (T&E): “On the eve of the launch of the Fiat500e […] the government should have allocated funds to new technologies only,” says Veronica Aneris, T&E manager for Italy. “Instead, with this decree, the government shows a worrying lack of vision in supporting the Italian automotive sector in the electric mobility revolution.”

opportunityenergy.org, smartgreenpost.com, transportenvironment.org (criticism)