MILAN -- Italy's new-car sales fell 15 percent in December as automakers and dealers reduced the number of vehicles that were sold through self-registrations.
Registrations for the month were 119,454, according to the country's transport ministry. December had one more selling day than the same month in 2019.
The decline was caused by a 49 percent drop in self-registrations, a method used by automakers to artificially increase volume by selling dealerships a new vehicle that is then sold on to customers as nearly new.
Self-registrations had jumped in December 2019 as dealers registered vehicles with higher CO2 emissions so that automakers could avoid paying fines under stringent new emissions rules introduced at the start of 2020.
The Italian government's mobility restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 also had an impact. Sales to short-term rental companies plunged 61 percent because the restrictions affected tourism and business travel.
Registrations by long-term rental companies were up 2.4 percent. Business registrations were down 15 percent.
Sales to private customers declined slightly by 0.5 percent, after growing 12 percent in November. Private sales were hit when a government program to subsidize new cars with low CO2 emissions of 60 grams per km to 110 g/km ran out of funds by late October.
The program was revived in late December. The government is providing 120 million euros ($140 million) to offer a 2,000-euro incentive to buyers of cars emitting up to 60 g/km of CO2. A further up to 6,000-euros Ecobonus is available if the new car is a full-electric or plug-in hybrid model.
Customers who trade in cars emitting between 61 g/km and 135 g/km CO2 benefit from a 1,500-euro subsidy until June as part of a second, 250-million-euro finance program.
For the whole of 2020, the Italian market was down 28 percent to 1.38 million units. Market researcher Dataforce forecasts sales will rebound 12 percent to 1.55 million units in 2021.
