Italy passenger car fuel mix — 2024 in numbers

Background

Italy’s passenger-car market in 2024 remained heavily centered on petrol, with diesel still substantial and electric registrations comparatively limited. The findings list 1,550,879 passenger-car registrations in 2024, including 991,510 petrol cars, 295,950 diesel cars, 64,432 electric cars, 145,292 LPG cars, 48,472 petrol/electric cars, 3,592 diesel/electric cars, 1,235 NG cars, and 396 E85 cars.

The headline fuel shares supplied in the findings reinforce that picture. In 2024, petrol accounted for 63.9, diesel for 19.1, and electric for 4.2. For readers asking how the car market is doing, the most direct answer available here is that the market recorded 1,550,879 registrations in 2024, with petrol clearly dominant.

The 2024 fuel mix

The 2024 market was led by conventional petrol by a wide margin. Diesel remained the second-largest fuel type, while LPG stood out as a notable alternative-fuel presence. Battery-electric volume was meaningful but still far below petrol and diesel.

Fuel type	2024 registrations
Petrol	991,510
Diesel	295,950
LPG	145,292
Electric	64,432
Petrol/electric	48,472
Diesel/electric	3,592
NG	1,235
E85	396

This distribution answers part of a common question about the automotive industry in Italy: in the passenger-car market, the 2024 mix was still led by internal-combustion formats, especially petrol. Electrified powertrains were present, but the findings show a market where conventional fuels remained central.

How 2024 compares with earlier years

Across 2020 through 2024, petrol registrations rose from 719,622 in 2020 to 813,796 in 2021, then moved to 752,623 in 2022, 947,170 in 2023, and 991,510 in 2024. Diesel moved in the opposite direction over the same period, from 478,668 in 2020 to 377,166 in 2021, 313,649 in 2022, 349,060 in 2023, and 295,950 in 2024.

Electric registrations were 32,373 in 2020, 66,810 in 2021, 48,575 in 2022, 65,722 in 2023, and 64,432 in 2024. LPG rose steadily from 79,570 in 2020 to 90,520 in 2021, 116,274 in 2022, 127,495 in 2023, and 145,292 in 2024.

Year	Petrol	Diesel	Electric	LPG
2020	719,622	478,668	32,373	79,570
2021	813,796	377,166	66,810	90,520
2022	752,623	313,649	48,575	116,274
2023	947,170	349,060	65,722	127,495
2024	991,510	295,950	64,432	145,292

The broad pattern is clear in the raw counts: petrol strengthened strongly by 2023 and 2024, diesel was lower in 2024 than in every earlier year shown except none, LPG expanded year after year, and electric remained in a narrower band after its 2021 high of 66,810.

Hybrids and other alternative fuels

Hybridized petrol and diesel also appear in the findings, though at much smaller volumes than standard petrol. Petrol/electric registrations were 28,017 in 2020, 64,543 in 2021, 63,058 in 2022, 66,376 in 2023, and 48,472 in 2024. Diesel/electric registrations were 1,394 in 2020, 4,541 in 2021, 3,910 in 2022, 2,499 in 2023, and 3,592 in 2024.

Gas-based fuels show a split story. LPG expanded from 79,570 in 2020 to 145,292 in 2024, while NG fell from 26,578 in 2020 and 27,305 in 2021 to 10,723 in 2022, 1,855 in 2023, and 1,235 in 2024. NG-biomethane appeared at 3,590 in 2020 and 4,070 in 2021, but is not listed in later years in this dataset. CNG appears only in 2020 at 1,357. E85 appears only in 2024 at 396.

For readers looking for facts about Italian cars or the Italian market, one practical takeaway is that alternative fuels in Italy are not a single story. LPG gained visible ground in registrations, while NG receded sharply in the annual counts shown here.

What the fleet looked like before the latest year

The findings also include a fleet overview for 2022. Italy’s passenger-car fleet totaled 40,213,061 in that year. Within that fleet, petrol represented 47.4 and diesel 42.5.

The age profile in the same 2022 fleet overview points to an older parc. Vehicles aged 10–20 totaled 23,819,479, compared with 7,432,567 aged 2–5, 5,912,708 aged 5–10, and 3,048,307 aged under 2.

2022 fleet measure	Value
Fleet total	40,213,061
Petrol share	47.4
Diesel share	42.5
Age under 2	3,048,307
Age 2–5	7,432,567
Age 5–10	5,912,708
Age 10–20	23,819,479

That context matters when discussing the automotive industry in Italy. New registrations can shift quickly from year to year, but the in-use fleet in 2022 was still anchored by petrol and diesel, and a large portion of vehicles were in the 10–20 age band.

New registrations in the fleet overview year

The same 2022 overview reports 1,335,690 new registrations. By fuel share, petrol was 62.4, diesel 24.2, LPG 8.9, electric 3.7, gas 0.8, and alternative fuels 13.3. The findings also list several electrified categories: petrol hybrid at 28.2, diesel hybrid at 19.6, electric petrol hybrid at 30.0, electric petrol plug-in at 4.2, electric diesel hybrid at 4.1, and electric diesel plug-in at 0.6. Hydrogen fuel cell is listed at 0.0.

These figures help answer broad questions about how the market was doing before 2024. In 2022, petrol already held 62.4 of new registrations, close to the 63.9 reported for petrol in 2024. Electric was 3.7 in the 2022 overview and 4.2 in 2024. Diesel was 24.2 in the 2022 overview and 19.1 in 2024.

What this says about Italy’s market direction

Within the limits of the dataset, the direction is mixed rather than uniform. Petrol registrations were higher in 2024 than in 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020. Diesel registrations in 2024 were below every earlier year shown. LPG registrations increased in each year from 2020 through 2024. Electric registrations in 2024 were below 2021 and 2023, but above 2020 and 2022.

That means the 2024 Italian passenger-car market cannot be described simply as an electric transition story. The findings instead show a market where petrol remained the main engine of volume, diesel continued to retreat in raw registrations, LPG gained relevance, and electric held a modest share of 4.2.

For readers asking what cars Italy makes or how much a car in Italy costs, this dataset does not provide manufacturer, model, production, or pricing information. It is strictly a fuel-mix view of passenger-car registrations and fleet composition.

Limitations

Several limits shape what can be said. The dataset covers passenger-car fuel mix in Italy, not vehicle production, brands, model lines, retail prices, financing, or buying procedures. It therefore cannot answer questions about car price in Italy, buying a car in Italy, or what cars Italy makes.

There are also category-label differences across years. Some 2020 and 2021 entries are uppercase, while 2022 through 2024 use lowercase for several fuels. NG-biomethane appears in 2020 and 2021 but not later. CNG appears only in 2020, and E85 only in 2024. Those details matter when comparing niche fuels across the full period.

Finally, the fleet overview is for 2022, while the latest registration snapshot is for 2024. The findings support careful side-by-side context, but not a direct statement that the 2022 fleet shares are the same as the 2024 fleet shares.

Frequently asked questions

Q: How is the car market doing in Italy in 2024? A: The findings report 1,550,879 passenger-car registrations in Italy in 2024. Petrol led with 991,510, followed by diesel at 295,950.

Q: What fuel type dominated Italy’s passenger-car market in 2024? A: Petrol dominated in 2024 with 991,510 registrations and a reported share of 63.9. Diesel was next at 295,950 and 19.1.

Q: How big was the electric-car market in Italy in 2024? A: Electric registrations totaled 64,432 in 2024. The findings give electric a 4.2 share for the year.

Q: Was diesel still important in Italy in 2024? A: Yes. Diesel registrations reached 295,950 in 2024, making it the second-largest fuel type in the dataset for that year.

Q: Did LPG matter in Italy’s 2024 market? A: Yes. LPG registrations were 145,292 in 2024, above electric at 64,432 and petrol/electric at 48,472.

Q: What does the fleet overview say about Italy’s car parc? A: In 2022, the passenger-car fleet totaled 40,213,061. Petrol represented 47.4 and diesel 42.5, and 23,819,479 vehicles were in the 10–20 age band.