The Italian market for towed vehicles continues to show clear signs of crisis, recording a significant decline for the sixth consecutive month. According to the Centro Studi e Statistiche of Unrae, based on registration data provided by the Ministry of Transport, there was a 6.5% contraction in May 2024 compared to the same month of the previous year, with 1,370 units registered compared to 1,465 in May 2023.
The negative trend is not limited to May alone: since the beginning of 2024, registrations of new towed vehicles have totaled 5,781, marking a 17% decrease compared to the first five months of 2023, when 6,965 units were registered. This alarming picture confirms the crisis affecting the towed vehicle market in four of the last six years, raising the average age of the Italian vehicle fleet to 17.3 years.
Michele Mastagni, coordinator of the Trailer, Semi-Trailer, and Bodywork Group of Unrae, commented, "Unless there are unexpected upheavals, we must acknowledge that 2024 is shaping up to be a year of crisis for our sector. The difficulties in this sector negatively impact the entire transport chain: outdated vehicles compromise environmental sustainability, road safety, and service quality. Therefore, we find it intolerable to see vehicles registered decades ago still on our roads, which do not meet modern emission and safety standards."
To address this situation, Unrae is calling on the Government for concrete measures to support the sector. "In the absence of structural measures and careful planning by the Government, the trailer and semi-trailer market will struggle to recover. For this reason, we have long hoped for concrete support measures, such as a multi-year fund of 70 million euros aimed at encouraging the purchase of the latest generation of towed vehicles," Mastagni specifies.
Finally, Mastagni raises a regulatory issue that further aggravates the situation: "We ask that during the revision of the Highway Code, the regulatory gap preventing the circulation of articulated vehicles up to 18.75 meters in length be addressed. This regulatory contradiction, which has persisted for three years, creates an even more severe situation in light of the recent extension of the exemption reserved for vehicle combinations under the so-called Project Eighteen, which results in a clear discrimination between the 330 vehicle combinations allowed to circulate with a length of 18 meters nationwide without time constraints and the remaining vehicles to which the 16.50-meter limit still applies."
