Why Italy's electric vehicle revolution is stuck in slow motion

YouTuber Andrew Till, or Mr.EV, traveled to Italy to see what the problem with them is, as well as the issues facing potential customers.

Other countries largely seem to be embracing the move to electrification, so is Italy a big outlier, and if so, why?

It's an interesting conundrum, and one that needs solving to work out if EVs can ever work in the country.

Why are EVs a problem in Italy?

We asked Till for his thoughts as to why EVs aren't a hit in Italy right now.

"The Italians I speak to are genuinely open to the idea, but take a lot of convincing that it could work for them practically," he told our website.

In terms of market shares, EVs in Europe reached 17.4 percent in 2025.

"Italy was at just 6.2 percent, and has 283,000 EVs on the road," said the YouTuber.

One potential problem is housing, with around half of Italians living in apartments.

That makes home charging difficult, with no space to install a wall charger at home.

"In the UK, EV adoption has been driven largely by people who can charge at home overnight," Till told us.

"In Rome, where most people live in apartments without assigned parking, that's not an option," he added to our website.

But there is a lot more at play here than just a lack of places to put in a wall charger at home.

Other factors hurt electric cars in Italy

Hybrids are popular, yet a full EV isn't.

"Hybrids feel like the natural stepping stone right now," Till told our website.

"People are interested in electrification, but want the security of a petrol engine as a fallback," he added.

Part of the problem is cost, as electric cars can be more expensive than hybrids.

"What really drives purchasing decisions is cost," Till told us.

"Despite the obvious national pride around Italian brands like Fiat, if a cheaper foreign car represents better value, Italians will buy it - and do,"

"BYD is already gaining traction there," Till concluded.

Many Italians, such as those in Rome, favor smaller cars for city use, such as the Fiat 500.

And while companies like Fiat do make small electric vehicles, they struggle price-wise compared to those from China.

Then there's the relatively poor charging architecture in the country, compared to places like the UK.

All of this has meant that EV adoption in Italy has fallen behind many other European countries.

At this moment in time, it looks like Italy will be the home of the hybrid, and not the fully electric car.