Italy's 2026 EV incentives: the money is gone

The click day that burned 597 million euros in hours

If you searched for "Italy EV incentives 2026" hoping there is still a state bonus available for buying a new electric car, the short answer is: the money is gone. On 22 October 2025, Italy's Ministry of Environment and Energy Security opened its Sogei booking platform at noon, and within a few hours the entire 597-million-euro fund, drawn from PNRR resources originally earmarked for charging infrastructure, had been fully reserved [1][2]. Within the first six hours alone, more than 45,000 vouchers had already been generated, committing over 480 million euros; by the end of the day the final count stood at 55,680 vouchers, well past the initial target of 39,000 new registrations [2][3].

Anyone who logged in after the first couple of hours found the platform jammed or already exhausted. That single day explains why searches for "EV incentives 2026" have stayed high ever since: a huge number of would-be buyers missed out and want to know whether another window is coming.

The rules for anyone who did get a voucher

It helps to understand how the scheme actually worked, because some of these rules still matter for anyone with an open application. The incentive only applied to a brand-new, 100% electric M1-category car (seating up to eight), with a list price capped at 42,700 euros including VAT; hybrids and plug-in hybrids were excluded from day one, a detail that still confuses many searchers who assume any electrified car qualifies [4].

The amount depended on household income (ISEE): up to 11,000 euros for an ISEE below 30,000 euros, and 9,000 euros for an ISEE between 30,000 and 40,000 euros. Buyers had to scrap a Euro 5 or older vehicle owned for at least six months, and keep the new car for at least 24 months [4]. A ministerial decree adopted in August and published in the Official Gazette in September 2025 also required dealers to validate each voucher, tying it to an actual purchase contract, within 30 days of issuance; anyone who didn't sign in time lost the benefit, freeing the reservation up for someone else [1].

That mechanism produced a second, smaller click day on 21-22 November 2025, when roughly 9,500 unused or forfeited vouchers came back onto the platform [1][3]. It was the last such window: anyone holding an active voucher has until 30 June 2026, a firm and non-extendable deadline, to complete the purchase [1].

Why there won't be a third click day in 2026

This is the part that matters most to anyone still searching for "EV incentives 2027" or the latest news: once the PNRR-funded pool ran out, no new state allocation for buying a new electric car has been announced [1][3]. The only realistic exceptions are leftover funds from cancelled or lapsed applications trickling back in over the coming months, and regional incentive schemes that some Italian regions run independently, with their own rules and amounts. As things stand, there is no official date for a 2026 click day [5].

That doesn't mean electric mobility has dropped off the policy agenda entirely: smaller-scale measures remain in place, including some support for home charging points, incentives for category-L vehicles (electric quadricycles), low-emission commercial vehicles, social leasing formulas, and conversion grants for LPG or methane retrofits on existing cars [3][5]. None of it comes close, in scale, to the 597 million euros committed in a single day back in October 2025.

The side effect nobody quite expected

While the new-car bonus was drying up, the used electric car market started moving in a direction dealers didn't anticipate. By February 2026, the median price of a used electric car in Italy had fallen to around 22,000 euros, dropping below a used plug-in hybrid for the first time, at 22,900 euros; a year earlier, in March 2025, that same used electric car averaged 27,325 euros, almost 20% higher [6][7].

Two forces are reinforcing each other here. First, millions of lease and rental contracts signed between 2020 and 2023, when the earliest EU-wide incentives kicked in, are now expiring, pushing low-mileage cars with healthy batteries onto the used market [7]. Second, newer-generation models with longer range and faster charging are making older versions less desirable to new-car buyers, which drags resale values down as well [7]. Industry analysts expect a further 10-15% drop by the end of 2026, before prices stabilize in 2027 [6].

Is it still worth chasing the incentive, or better to buy used now?

This is where the picture flips compared with a year ago. The state incentive was never available for used cars in the first place — it only ever applied to buying a new electric car — so anyone shopping secondhand had nothing to lose when the funds ran out. Today, with used EV prices falling and a new-car bonus that, for most buyers, effectively no longer exists, the gap between "buy new and wait for a maybe-incentive" and "buy used now" has narrowed considerably.

Anyone weighing a used electric car should still check the battery's state of health carefully (often readable from the dashboard or available on request from the seller), any remaining manufacturer warranty on the battery pack, and the car's full maintenance history, exactly as you would with a combustion vehicle. Electric cars still account for a small slice of Italy's used market, around 1.9% as of February 2026, but that share is climbing steadily, a sign the secondhand market for these cars is finally maturing [6][7].

The practical takeaway

If you already hold a voucher: confirm with your dealer that the contract was signed in time and that the 30 June 2026 deadline is realistically achievable. If you missed out and are waiting for a new click day: there is currently no date set, so it doesn't make sense to delay a purchase on that basis. If you are shopping for an electric car: compare a recent used model's price honestly against a full-price new one, always ask for battery health and warranty documentation, and keep in mind that used prices, on current estimates, may still have room to fall before they settle in 2027.

Sources

1. Click day - Bonus auto elettriche, i fondi sono finiti. Ma potrebbero tornare disponibili, Quattroruote, 22 Oct 2025
2. Incentivi auto elettriche esauriti: distribuiti quasi 56mila voucher, Rinnovabili.it, 23 Oct 2025
3. Incentivi auto elettriche, tutto esaurito con oltre 55 mila voucher. Ci sarà un nuovo "Click Day"?, Moveo by Telepass, 24 Nov 2025
4. Incentivi auto 2025: ISEE, click day e bonus fino a 11.000 € per le elettriche, CodFis.it, 15 Sep 2025
5. Ecobonus 2026, fondi già esauriti. Cosa fare se sei rimasto senza, alVolante.it, 20 Jan 2026
6. Auto usate, prezzi in calo ma le elettriche corrono: +18,5% nel 2026, TecnoAndroid, 3 Mar 2026
7. Auto elettriche usate: per la prima volta costano meno delle ibride plug-in, ma il mercato è ancora marginale, Automoto.it, 5 Mar 2026