There is no doubting the potential of the global shift towards electric mobility: the percentage of electric cars has increased by 94% in ten years and new car registrations by 72%. In 2016, 2 million electric and hybrid electric plug in vehicles entered circulation, 9,820 of which were in Italy (+60% compared with the previous year). In Italy, the European country with the highest level of car ownership and one of the last in terms of e-mobility, the number of electric vehicles has grown at an average rate of 41% between 2005 and 2016, peaking at 96% in the first months of 2017.
These figures confirm the potential of the sector for the competitiveness of the country. Francesco Starace, CEO and General Manager of Enel, highlighted that in order to take full advantage of this opportunity, it is necessary to create an extensive infrastructure of charging stations. Such an intervention across the territory can be implemented thanks to European funds destined for the Regions and Enel, through the Global Business Line e-Solutions, is ready to invest up to 300 million euros in the next three years to install up to 12 thousand units. The aim is to break down the final taboo inhibiting the take-up of electric vehicles: the perception that electric cars are not capable of travelling long distances.
“With this study we aim to create a new awareness among policymakers and in the industrial sector,” explained Starace. “In Italy, in fact, we have the only digitalized medium and low voltage network in the world, capable of supporting a rapid expansion in the use of electric vehicles on a large scale.”
For the compilation of the report e-Mobility Revolution, The European House Ambrosetti set up an advisory board including international experts such as Carlo Ratti, Director of MIT Senseable City Laboratory in the United States, and Maria Chiara Carrozza, professor of industrial bio-engineering and member of the III Commission on Foreign and European Affairs at the Chamber of Deputies in the Italian Parliament.
The study offers a thorough analysis of the sector, creating the first ever mapping of the Italian value chain for e-mobility, which today includes 160 thousand businesses and 823 thousand employees. Furthermore, the report outlines a measurement tool for use in the immediate future: the Electric Transport Index (ITE). This index facilitates the analysis of the performance of Italy’s 20 Regions and 14 metropolitan cities in order to develop a vision in the mid to long-term, also with reference to national policy. Without a strategic coordination on a political level, in fact, there is a risk that Italy will lose out on the European finance for infrastructure as well as jobs in the industry.
The e-Mobility Revolution report, therefore, offers an analysis of the scenario in order to begin to tell a new story of excellence in Italian manufacturing and car production that is more sustainable and greener, from electric motors to batteries and electric power sockets.