According to UNRAE, the Italian used car market grew by 3.8% in March 2025. Hybrids, plug-ins and EVs continue to gain ground, while diesel loses share and younger cars increase their presence.
March 2025: seventh straight month of growth for used cars
The Italian used car market continues its upward trend, with 497,573 ownership transfers recorded in March 2025, marking a +3.8% increase compared to March 2024, according to data released by UNRAE. This is the seventh consecutive month of growth, with a Q1 total of 1,450,742 registrations (+3.4%).
Fuel types: diesel in decline, hybrids grow steadily
Among powertrains, diesel remains the top choice but continues its gradual decline, dropping to 42.5% in March. Petrol vehicles followed with 38.6%. Meanwhile, hybrids rose to 9.6%, securing third place. Plug-in hybrids held at 1.2% and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) increased to 1.0%.
Buyer trends: private transactons lead
As per UNRAE’s breakdown, private or business-to-business transactions rose to 57.5%, gaining 1.6 percentage points. Sales from dealers to final customers declined to 38.3%, while self-registrations remained stable at 3.3%, and rental returns slightly increased.
Top regions: Lombardy, Lazio and Campania dominate
Lombardy confirmed its lead among the regions, holding a 16.1% share of used car transfers. Lazio followed at 9.7%, and Campania at 9.2%, with Sicily and Veneto just behind (8.2% and 8.1% respectively).
Vehicle age: younger used cars gain share
The share of used cars over 10 years old dropped to 47.5% in March, while vehicles up to 4 years old increased to 23.5%, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous year. Cars aged 2–4 years rose to 12.3%, and 1–2-year-old cars to 4.6%.
Minivoltures: electrified vehicles gaining momentum
Minivoltures—temporary transfers often used in trade-ins—also showed strong growth in hybrids, up to 13.0%, while diesel dropped to 44.1%. Petrol gained slightly to 31.9%, and BEVs and plug-ins rose to 1.6% and 1.8%respectively.
Minivoltures: younger vehicles increasingly common
UNRAE also reports that cars under 4 years now account for 32.4% of all minivoltures, up 5 points year-on-year. Vehicles under 1 year climbed to 8.7%, while those over 10 years old fell to 35.4%.
Source: Data from UNRAE – National Union of Foreign Motor Vehicle Representatives (March 2025)
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