The decree regulating new incentives for electric cars has been published in the Official Journal; all the rules
We still don’t know exactly when the new 2025 electric car incentives will actually come into effect. The government was talking about September, but we recently saw that there could be a one-month delay. Meanwhile, the decree “Criteria and methods for the granting of non-repayable incentives provided for in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan—Program for the renewal of the private and light commercial vehicle fleet with electric vehicles” has been published in the Official Journal. This decree summarizes all the rules of the new Ecobonus. We already knew many of them, but there are still some small changes. Let’s take a look at everything you need to know, keeping in mind that the incentives will likely be fully implemented at least until October.
ELECTRIC CAR INCENTIVES 2025
In short, for individuals, the Ecobonus can reach up to €11,000 , but there’s the issue of residency within a functional urban area . We can read about this in the decree.
The incentive scheme applies to natural persons residing in functional urban areas – for natural persons, only vehicles in category M1 are eligible; microenterprises as defined in Article 2, point 9, of Regulation (EU) 2023/955 with registered offices in functional urban areas – for microenterprises, only vehicles in categories N1 and N2 are eligible.
For private individuals, there is also the ISEE requirement to comply with.
For private vehicles (M1), the incentive amounts to a maximum of 11,000 euros per new vehicle for natural persons with an Equivalent Economic Situation Indicator (ISEE) of less than or equal to 30,000 euros and to a maximum of 9,000 euros per new vehicle for natural persons with an ISEE of more than 30,000 euros but less than or equal to 40,000 euros.
These are the rules for commercial vehicles.
For commercial vehicles (N1 and N2), the incentive covers up to 30% of the purchase price, with a maximum of €20,000 per new vehicle. The scheme only applies to the purchase of zero-emission vehicles.
THE REQUIREMENTS
The decree goes further and specifies in more detail the requirements for both individuals and microenterprises. What exactly is a microenterprise ?
A “microenterprise” means an enterprise, as defined in Article 2, point 9 of Regulation (EU) 2023/955 of 10 May 2023, which employs fewer than 10 persons and has an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 2 million, calculated in accordance with Articles 3 to 6 of Annex I to Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014.
What about functional urban areas? We’ve already discussed this in the past, and the decree further specifies the significance of this important requirement.
By “functional urban area,” Istat (National Institute of Statistics) defines the territorial area as a cluster of contiguous municipalities, composed of a City and its commuting zone. The commuting zone is defined by the flows of commuters for work purposes recorded in the 2011 general population census. The City is the local administrative unit where the majority of the population lives in a high-density cluster (or urban center) with a population of at least 50,000;
It’s also worth remembering that the maximum spending limit for purchasing a new electric car is €35,000 + VAT (for individuals).
The non-repayable incentives provided for in the previous Article 2, hereinafter referred to as the “electric vehicle bonus” or simply “bonus,” are granted to natural persons for the purchase of a single new M1 category vehicle powered exclusively by an electric vehicle (BEV) and with a price resulting from the manufacturer’s official price list equal to or less than €35,000, excluding VAT and optional extras.
For individuals, these additional incentive aspects are worth keeping in mind. Here’s what the Ecobonus decree emphasizes.
The bonus is awarded for the purchase of a single M1 category vehicle, which must be registered to the beneficiary and ownership must be maintained for at least twenty-four months. To receive the bonus, the following conditions must be met: the contribution is conditional on the scrapping of a vehicle in the same category approved for a class up to Euro 5; the individual booking the bonus must have been the primary owner of the vehicle to be scrapped for at least six months and can generate the bonus for themselves or for another adult member of the same household as defined for ISEE purposes pursuant to Prime Ministerial Decree No. 159 of 5 December 2013, as amended; the document proving the purchase must specifically state the vehicle to be scrapped and indicate the amount of the discount applied based on the incentive granted.
For micro-enterprises, however, the following is important to know:
The bonus is available for the purchase of up to two vehicles in the N1 or N2 category. These vehicles must be registered to the beneficiary (the owner of the microenterprise) and must be owned for at least twenty-four months. To receive the bonus, the following conditions must be met: each contribution for the purchase of each individual vehicle is conditional on the scrapping of a vehicle in the same category approved for emissions up to Euro 5; at the time of booking the bonus, the vehicle to be scrapped must have been registered to the owner of the microenterprise for at least six months.
Another interesting point is that the new incentives cannot be combined with other similar initiatives. In other words, they cannot be combined with any regional incentives.
The bonuses are paid by the seller to the buyer through offsetting against the purchase price and cannot be combined with other national and European incentives.
This applies to both individuals and micro-enterprises.
HOW TO GET THE BONUS
The new incentives amount to €597 million , which should allow for the purchase of at least 39,000 new zero-emission vehicles. How do you get the bonus? The decree clearly explains this and lists the documents required . Applicants must register on a computer platform set up by Sogei. Individuals, more specifically, must submit the following documents.
of the self-certification declaration issued pursuant to Article 47 of Presidential Decree No. 445 of 28 December 2000, certifying that one is resident in a functional urban area;
of the license plate of the vehicle to be scrapped, of which the owner must have been the primary owner for at least six months;
of whether the bonus will be generated in his or her favor or in favor of another adult member belonging to the same family unit as defined for ISEE purposes pursuant to the Prime Ministerial Decree of 5 December 2013, no. 159 and subsequent amendments and additions.
For micro-enterprises:
a) the required self-certification declaration issued pursuant to Article 47 of Presidential Decree No. 445 of 28 December 2000, certifying:
- to be duly incorporated and registered as active in the Companies Register;
- to be in full and free exercise of its rights, not to be subject to insolvency proceedings and not to be in a state of bankruptcy, compulsory or voluntary liquidation, controlled administration, preventive composition with creditors, with the exception of preventive composition with creditors with business continuity, or in any other equivalent situation according to current legislation;
- to have fewer than ten employees;
- to have an annual turnover or annual balance sheet not exceeding 2 (two) million euros;
- to be in compliance with the provisions in force regarding social security and tax obligations;
- the total amount of “de minimis” aid received in the thirty-six months preceding the time of registration;
- to not be included among the enterprises excluded by the “”de minimis”” Regulation or the “”de minimis”” Regulation for the agricultural sector”;
- that the micro-enterprise has its registered office in a functional urban area;
b) the license plate of the vehicle to be scrapped, which must have been registered to the owner of the micro-enterprise for at least six months.
Once registration is complete, a voucher will be generated that entitles you to the incentive, i.e., the discount on the purchase of a new electric vehicle. Please note that the voucher must be validated within 30 days by the seller, who is also registered on the same platform. If the voucher is not validated by the deadline, it will be cancelled and the amount will be repaid into the incentive fund. If cancelled, customers can still request a new voucher to purchase the vehicle.
Regarding the car to be scrapped, there are rules that sellers who take back the car must respect.
The beneficiary must deliver the vehicle to be scrapped at the same time as the new vehicle. Sellers must deliver the used vehicle to a dismantling company within thirty days of the new vehicle’s delivery date, failing which the bonus will not be recognized. They must also submit the request for deregistration for scrapping directly, or through the dismantling company itself, to the online motorist service, as per the regulation adopted by Presidential Decree No. 358 of September 19, 2000. The operator must enter the delivery date of the new vehicle and the scrapping date of the combustion engine vehicle into the platform.
THE ECO-SCORE KNOT
Based on the environmental score criterion, known as the “eco-score,” which evaluates a vehicle’s carbon footprint over its entire life cycle, a list of vehicles eligible for incentives may also be established. In this case, prior to the registration of sellers of eligible vehicles as per paragraph 2 above, MASE will publish the aforementioned list of eligible vehicles through a specific notice in the “Notices and Notices” section of its institutional website www.mase.gov.it.
What does this mean? Theoretically, the government could introduce an additional variable for incentive payments based on the vehicle’s carbon footprint throughout its life cycle . However, no criteria are currently established, and therefore the 2025 electric car incentives are unlikely to begin with this additional requirement.
