Car prices have risen 52% since 2013 and rentals continue to grow. Aniasa data

ROME - Since 2013, average car prices have grown by 52% compared to a 23% increase in national family income, a gap that is making cars less and less of a mass commodity, while still remaining central to Italian mobility. This is what emerges from the annual survey on Italian mobility conducted by Aniasa and Bain & Company, which highlights how 8 out of 10 interviewees do not give up their cars for their travels, but also how high prices slow down new purchases and push consumers to wait. The analysis by the Association that represents the rental and mobility services sector within Confindustria, delves into the main ways Italians travel and analyses the reasons for current trends.

An innovative focus of the study relates the income of Italian families to the average price of cars: the average cost in Italy has increased by 52% (from 19,000 to 30,000 euros) from 2013 to today, while in the same period family incomes have grown by only 29% (from 29,000 to 38,000 euros). The decoupling in the growth rate of these two values ​​began in 2020, until then prices and incomes had marked very similar increases (on average 12%-14%).

In short, the high increase in prices and the strong global economic instability are distancing consumers from an expensive good like a car. The possibility of having green engines or advanced driving systems clashes with the reality of purchasing power: almost 2 out of 3 Italians have cancelled or postponed the purchase while waiting for a drop in prices (32% of the sample) or due to income problems (33%).

The price factor is so relevant that it is also the main reason (35%) why a new Chinese/Asian car is chosen today. Italians, even though they use their car more, do not buy a new one, preferring used or "end of life" vehicles. According to the study, the share of consumers who in 2024 did not even consider buying a new car rose by 5 percentage points in just one year (from 57% in 2023 to 62% in 2024), confirming the sense of disorientation created by national and European regulations and by the increase in prices. The effects of these choices obviously translate into a contraction of the market and an increase in the average age of the fleet in circulation (among the oldest in Europe).

In this context, long-term rental is doing well, recording an increase of 7.56% in the first five months of the year, reaching almost 200 thousand cars rented against approximately 185 thousand in the same period of the previous year. According to Aniasa data, short-term 'rent a car' is also increasing, recording a rise of 3.45%: overall, almost 275 thousand cars were rented from January to May, with a share of 34.23% of the total registered vehicles.

"The increasing costs of cars, as this research shows, are making this good less and less accessible to large groups of consumers, who prefer to keep their car while waiting for better times or to evaluate alternative formulas, more economically sustainable - underlined Alberto Viano, president of Aniasa - Rental is confirmed today, even for private individuals, as a tool for democratizing the car, which makes it possible through a monthly fee, more accessible, to use a latest generation car, with low emissions and equipped with the most advanced safety systems. Today there are over 170,000 private individuals (with and without VAT numbers), who have chosen to forgo purchasing a car to rely on rental".

"This year's data confirms that the car remains central to the daily mobility of Italians, but also that the market is undergoing a profound transformation," added Gianluca Di Loreto, partner and head of Italian automotive at Bain & Company. " The increase in costs and economic uncertainty are redefining consumer priorities: it is not the interest in private mobility that is decreasing, but the real possibility of accessing a new car. This strengthens a new normality made of vehicles kept for longer, attention to price and openness to non-traditional solutions, such as used or rental. It is essential that the sector knows how to respond to these needs in a flexible way."