Italy considers modelling new EV subsidies after France
The Italian government is said to consider France’s new subsidy rules “reasonable” and is exploring similar options. This is what two insiders told the Reuters news agency. Italy is currently governed by a right-wing coalition of Fratelli d’Italia, Lega and Forza Italia, with the cabinet headed by Giorgia Meloni.
In spring 2022, the government announced that it would provide 650 million euros per year for 2022, 2023 and 2024 for incentives to purchase electrified and low-emission vehicles. Private individuals currently receive a subsidy of up to 3,000 euros for the purchase of an electric car costing up to 35,000 euros net. According to Reuters, Italy’s Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said in September that Italians had used 80 per cent of the incentives to buy imported manufactured vehicles and that a revision of the incentive framework should encourage both the switch to cleaner vehicles and national car production.
The new regulation of electric car subsidies in France provides for the introduction of a points system based on various environmental criteria, including not only the characteristics of the vehicle model itself, including its weight, but also the origin and environmental impact of the materials used (including the battery), as well as the environmental performance of the assembly plant and the transport routes to the point of sale. The new regulations are indirectly aimed at limiting the import of Chinese vehicles into France, which compete with those produced in the country and in Europe. After all, in China, which produces 60 per cent of its electricity from coal and has to transport the vehicles a long way, many manufacturers are unlikely to meet the criteria.
In parallel, the European Commission is launching its announced investigation into imports of electric vehicles from China. Officially, there is talk of an “anti-price-dumping investigation”. This week, the committee outlined its timetable and procedure.
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