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As ownership gives way to access, younger drivers, electric uncertainty, and tighter regulations are reshaping the future of mobility
In 2025, the Italian automotive market offered a striking paradox. While overall new vehicle registrations declined by 2.4%, the vehicle rental sector surged ahead, reaching more than 524,000 registrations and accounting for 30.6% of all new vehicles sold. This milestone is not merely a statistical curiosity; it is a powerful indicator of deeper structural and generational changes unfolding across the global automotive industry.
According to the annual analysis by Aniasa and Dataforce, rental registrations—covering both passenger cars and light commercial vehicles—grew by 10.7% year on year. Passenger cars were the main driver of this expansion, with nearly 454,000 units registered, up 13.3% compared to 2024. Long-term rental increased by 11.6%, while short-term rental jumped by an impressive 19.3%, buoyed by the recovery of tourism and seasonal mobility. Light commercial vehicles, by contrast, told a more complex story, ending the year down 3.3%, with short-term rental particularly affected.
At first glance, these figures reflect a pragmatic response to economic pressure. Rising purchase prices, higher interest rates, insurance costs, and maintenance expenses have made traditional car ownership increasingly burdensome. As Aniasa president Italo Folonari noted, consumers are shifting from the logic of ownership to that of usage. Yet beneath this economic rationale lies a broader generational transformation that extends far beyond Italy’s borders.
Younger generations, especially Millennials and Gen Z, view the car very differently from their parents. For many, flexibility, predictability of costs, and digital convenience matter more than owning an asset that rapidly depreciates. Rental and subscription-based mobility solutions align naturally with lifestyles shaped by streaming services, the sharing economy, and remote or hybrid work. In this sense, the growth of vehicle rental is not just a response to market conditions, but a cultural shift that is redefining what mobility means in the 21st century.
This generational change intersects with another major fault line in the automotive world: the transition to electrification. The Italian rental market shows a faster uptake of electrified vehicles than the market as a whole. In long-term rental fleets, hybrid and electric vehicles are growing strongly, with plug-in hybrids nearly doubling and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) increasing by 39.4% year on year. BEVs now represent close to 7% of long-term rental registrations, a higher share than in the overall Italian market.
Here, rental plays a crucial role as a “testing ground” for new technologies. Many drivers remain hesitant about going fully electric, citing concerns over charging infrastructure, range anxiety, residual values, and rapidly evolving technology. Rental mitigates these risks: users can experience electrified vehicles without committing to long-term ownership, while operators manage depreciation and regulatory compliance. This dynamic helps explain why electrification often advances faster in fleets than among private buyers.
At the same time, uncertainty remains high. Across Europe and other global markets, increasingly stringent emissions regulations are pushing manufacturers and consumers toward electrification, yet policy signals are not always clear or consistent. Shifting incentives, changing timelines for internal combustion engine bans, and geopolitical tensions affecting energy prices all contribute to hesitation. For younger consumers especially, sustainability is important, but so is affordability and practicality. Rental solutions offer a compromise, allowing gradual adaptation rather than abrupt disruption.
The Italian case thus mirrors a global trend. Automotive markets worldwide are undergoing a generational reset, driven by economic realities, environmental regulation, and changing values. Rental and mobility-as-a-service models are emerging as central pillars of this new ecosystem, cushioning the transition to electrification and redefining the relationship between people and cars.
In this evolving landscape, the future of the automotive industry may depend less on selling vehicles to individuals and more on providing adaptable, compliant, and sustainable mobility solutions. Italy’s 30% rental share is not an endpoint—it is an early signal of where global mobility is heading.
Alessandro Fiorentino