Boom in electric car sales in Europe during the first four months of 2016. In Italy hybrids are performing well: we are paying the price for a lack of rapid charging stations.
It is growing like a vanilla soufflé, poised to burst with flavour at the first bite. The European market for alternatively fuelled vehicles closed the first four months of 2016 on a positive note, recording a 6.4 per cent increase compared with the same period last year. A virtuous trend, according to data collected and published by the Acea, the association of European manufacturers, which sits within a broader context of general growth in the automotive sector — up 9 per cent in April compared with the same month in 2015 and up 8 per cent in the first third of 2016 — and which promises to benefit both the economy and the environment.
The renewal of the car fleet on the road — predominantly powered by petroleum derivatives and often dating back to an era when anti-pollution regulations were far less stringent — brings with it a reduction in harmful emissions, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides above all, while at the same time providing impetus for the development of electric propulsion and technologies related to autonomous driving.
Almost 155,000 low-environmental-impact vehicles were registered from January to the end of April in the European Union and the Efta countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland). Hybrid and electric cars are recording a genuine boom: up 26.8 per cent. A double-digit increase well above the already positive performance of the "traditional" market, one that sees exclusively battery-powered models (up 33.9 per cent) leading the charge, followed closely by plug-in hybrids — that is, vehicles driven by a combustion engine paired with an electric motor whose cells can also be recharged via a standard domestic socket — which stand at an encouraging plus 23.5 per cent. It is precisely this growing demand for electric mobility that has offset the collapse in orders for gas-powered vehicles: down 22.4 per cent.
Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Germany: these are the European countries where the market for alternatively fuelled vehicles, aided by existing state incentives, has grown the most since the start of the year. And Italy? Down 12.9 per cent. We are, apparently, the black sheep of the Old Continent. The negative figure is heavily influenced, however, by the decline — as mentioned — in demand for gas-powered vehicles (both LPG and methane), which today account for 80 per cent of the Peninsula's sustainable car fleet. That said, according to Acea data for the first four months of 2016, Italy is recording a two-speed performance: on one hand, electric cars are struggling (down 31 per cent); on the other, hybrids are surging (up 47 per cent). These figures allow us to draw one conclusion: we need more rapid charging stations. There is an urgent need for infrastructure to support the spread of alternative mobility.
On this point, Transport Minister Graziano Delrio has promised 20,000 new charging points for electric cars. Within three years. An ambitious development plan, given that at present only 800 rapid charging stations are active in Italy, and one that could also include purchase incentives, along the lines of those approved by the German Government, to be decided by the end of May.
Beyond the Italian anomaly, the automotive world is increasingly oriented towards sustainable mobility: electric, hybrid and hydrogen vehicles represent the horizon for the research and development departments of the leading manufacturers. One example above all? Bmw's future flagship model, a true technological manifesto from the Munich-based company, will be electric and self-driving. A revolution, as announced by chief executive Harald Krüger at the brand's annual shareholders' meeting. And as with every epoch-making change, this one too requires colossal investment alongside a radical renewal of both production facilities and communication and sales strategies. The 1.3 million vehicles delivered across Europe in April in total — over five million since the start of the year — will contribute to an acceleration of these processes: an injection of vitality into a trunk in great ferment.