Autogas, a Polish-Italian specialty

The Italian car market is the second largest in the European Union, after Germany, with the number of passenger cars registered in excess of 41 million. Followed by France (39.5 million), Spain (26.7 million) and Poland (22.3 million). Italians lead the way in the number of cars registered per 1000 inhabitants (694), with the average age of a passenger car being in Płw. Apennine 12.8 years — less than in Poland (15.1) and the whole of Central and Eastern Europe, but still a lot compared to Western Europe. The high saturation of cities with cars contributes to the problem of air quality, which is a common problem for Italy and Poland. According to the European Environment Agency, among the 100 EU cities with the worst air quality, 37 represent Italy and 34 represent Poland.

According to Eurostat, 3.1 million cars were registered in Italy in 2024, representing around 7.5% of the total vehicle fleet and nearly half of all cars powered by alternative fuels (including hybrid drives). In the same period as we wrote in Annual Report, in Poland, according to GUS data, the number of gas-powered vehicles reached 3.5 million, and about 125 thousand new gas installations were registered.

The share of LPG vehicles in Italy in 2024 in the new car market exceeded 9%, which means that the share of autogas in the car fleet is increasing. This trend confirms the positive attitude of consumers towards fuel, which combines environmental benefits with savings in use. As in Poland, the most popular brands of LPG powered cars were Renault and Dacia, with Sandero, Duster and Captur models dominating the registrations.

What distinguishes the Italian autogas market from the Polish one is the proportions of new car registrations and conversions. Poland is the largest market in Europe for conversion, i.e. installation of autogas systems in petrol cars. Italy, on the other hand, is the largest market for new cars with a factory-installed LPG installation. On the Pl. In the Apennine, factory installations have dominated for a decade, and in 2023 they reached almost 80% share in the number of registrations. In 10 years, the number of conversions decreased by 76%, to about 40,000 units per year.

In Poland, the proportions are the opposite: about 80% of LPG plant registrations in the Central Vehicle Register are used cars, which the owners retrofitted with a gas installation and legalized it through an official conversion declaration. On the Vistula River around the production of gas supply systems for cars over the past 25 years, a dynamic branch of industry has been established, which successfully competes on the world market with older companies from the Netherlands and Italy.

Incentives for the development of autogas in Italy

The Transport Environment Fund has been operating in Italy since 1998, supporting the development of low-carbon mobility. It financed, among other things, subsidies for the conversion of a vehicle when installing gas installations, both for autogas and for compressed natural gas (CNG). The surcharge for autogas amounted to EUR 350 and was paid directly to the workshop for the service provided. Since 2007, 10 years after the creation of the fund, the rate has been increased: a driver who decided to convert could take advantage of a discount of 500 euros when installing a gas installation.

In 2009-10, Italy additionally implemented a subsidy program for the purchase of passenger cars on autogas and CNG. The main objective was to accelerate the green transformation of transport — LPG and methane are cleaner fuels than gasoline due to their fuel composition. In operation, they are characterized by less emission of dust and other pollutants. Also from an economic point of view, LPG was a cheaper fuel for consumers, hence the subsidy scheme had a saving dimension and met with great interest from consumers.

When buying a new car, a bonus of EUR 1500-2000 was offered at that time, provided that the old car was scrapped. It was implemented in the form of a discount from the dealer until the budget allocated for the implementation of the programme was exhausted (EUR 102 million in 2009 and smaller amounts in subsequent years, approximately EUR 11.5 million and EUR 24.8 million respectively).

The program proved to be a huge success for the popularization of autogas in Italy. In 2009-10, the exchange of cars was so popular that, in view of the costs of the program, the funds were transferred entirely to the conversion program in 2011. In 2009 it was sold to Płw. The Apennine region saw 350,000 new LPG cars, and a year later about 270,000, making Italy the largest market for new LPG cars in Europe. After 2010, sales of new cars decreased, but the long-term effect of the subsidies was to consolidate the popularity of gas as a transport fuel in the following years. The programme has created a lasting impact on the autogas market in Italy — before 2009 the share of LPG vehicles in new registrations was 2-3%, during the period of operation of the programme it tripled and remained at around 5% in subsequent years. According to the Italian Government, as a result of the implementation of the LPG subsidy scheme, the average CO₂ emissions of new cars registered in Italy fell from 144.7 g/km in 2008 to 136.3 g/km in 2009, approaching the EU target and this was one of the best results among EU Member States.

After the temporary crisis of the pandemic years, sales of new cars on LPG in Italy increased again to about 150 thousand units per year. Cost issues are of the greatest importance for Italian consumers, both from the perspective of fuel prices and the possibility of benefiting from exemptions from traffic restrictions, in particular regarding the so-called Clean Transport Zones. Vehicles powered by gas are usually exempted from traffic restrictions based on EURO standards. Among the cities offering such exemptions for LPG are Bergamo, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Venice (provided that the car actually uses gas in the city) and many others. In recent years, numerous Italian cities have adopted anti-smog resolutions - they usually allow gas-powered cars to enter on condition that they are allowed to move.

In the face of the decline in the number of conversions of used cars to LPG, the Italian government in 2024-2025 once again offered citizens a subsidy program to reduce the emissions of existing car fleets, the so-called Ecobonus — Retrofit. The Ministry of Entrepreneurship has implemented a subsidy of EUR 400 for LPG installations in M1 category cars meeting the EURO4 standard or higher. As in the case of the instrument implemented since 1998, the grant is directed to the assembly workshop. The new programme is seen as an industrial policy instrument supporting the domestic automotive industry, including small and medium-sized enterprises.

Presenting the program, Minister Adolfo Urso said:

This new incentive plan for the automotive sector is based on three pillars: the renewal of the car fleet in Italy, one of the oldest in Europe; support the demand of people with lower incomes; and the revival of vehicle production in Italy. This approach is based on the belief that a profound change of course from previous years is necessary.

Prime Minister Meloni's government has adopted a more active industrial policy than its predecessors, also seeking to protect the interests of the domestic automotive sector.

Paweł Baraniuk, Vice President of AC SA, and Bartosz Kwiatkowski, CEO of POGP, spoke about the Polish and Italian autogas market during the European Liquid Gas Congress in May.

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Photo by Bianka Vienna: https://www.pexels.com/photo/colorful-italian-street-with-cars-and-pedestrians-33579771/