The domestic new car market is starting the year off well thanks to the strong boost from short-term rental. Electric cars are growing, hybrids are confirmed as the most popular
The Italian automotive market 2026 started well, after closing the month of January with registrations up by +6.2% compared to January 2025. 141,980 license plates were delivered in the month just ended, equal to an increase of 6.2% compared to the 133,721 in January 2025, thanks to the strong impulse coming from short term rental. The sprint at the beginning of the year follows the positive data of December (+2.2%), however not decisive in avoiding the red (-2.1%) at the end of 2025. Electric cars have lost the propellant effect of the state incentives that had determined the leaps in November (12.2%) and December (11%), but the 6.2% share reached in January 2026 represents a discreet improvement compared to 5% a year ago.
the power supplies
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Among them power supplies2026 extends the negative trend of traditional fuels with the 8 percentage points lost by petrol engines in January, for a general share that dropped to 18.7%. The diesel niche is reduced to 7.3% share, while LPG, falling to 6.5% in January, records one of the worst results in recent years. Hybrid cars grew by 7.2 points in the month to reach 52.1% of the general share: 14.4% were full hybrids and 37.7% mild hybrids. As anticipated, the electric cars they rise by 1.6% compared to January 2025, but the progress is more limited compared to plug-in hybrids, which rose to 8.7% share against 3.7% in January 2025.
the best sellers in January 2026
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The ranking of ten best-selling cars in Italy in January 2026.
