SIZE OF THE VEHICLE FLEET

The regulatory framework associated with the indicator of the size and density of the vehicle fleet is articulated through a complex multi-level legislative architecture that connects the guidelines of the European Union to national policies and the planning of local authorities. Since it is an indicator that directly measures the concentration of vehicles and the rate of private motorisation, its main references are closely linked to climate regulations, the protection of air quality and the regulation of urban and territorial mobility.

On a European level, the indicator finds its fundamental regulatory driver in the climate reform package called Fit for 55 and, in particular, in EU Regulation 2019/631 and its subsequent amendments. This legislation sets performance levels in terms of carbon dioxide emissions for new cars and light commercial vehicles, imposing a progressive reduction in emission targets up to the one hundred percent zero emissions limit starting from 2035, the year that will mark the halt in the sale of new internal combustion vehicles. EU Regulation 2024/1610 has a similar impact on the composition of heavy and collective vehicles, which defines the targets for heavy commercial vehicles and sets strict decarbonisation quotas for new urban and extra-urban bus fleets.

From the point of view of environmental protection and public health, the numerical consistency of the fleet in circulation directly affects the application of the European Directive 2016/2284, known as the NEC Directive, which requires Member States to structurally reduce national emissions of specific atmospheric pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides and fine particles, of which road transport is one of the main causes. In fact, data on the number and age of vehicles feed the national emissions inventory models managed by ISPRA, making it possible to verify compliance with the standards and the effectiveness of the progressive approval limits, i. e. The community regulations relating to the different Euro classes, up to the definition of the Euro 7 standard.

At a national level, the need to mitigate one of the highest rates of motorization in Europe and to encourage the modal shift towards forms of collective or soft transport is governed by state programmatic instruments. Among these, the Plan for the Ecological Transition stands out, adopted through an Interministerial Decree, which outlines the Italian strategies for sustainable mobility by setting objectives for reducing the private car fleet through the development of sharing mobility and the strengthening of public transport. In parallel, the Framework Law on Cycling Mobility (Law 2/2018) and the related General Plan provide the financing lines and principles to increase the share of non-motorised mobility, with the aim of alleviating vehicular pressure in urban areas.

Finally, local governance translates these macro-objectives onto the territory through regulatory planning and infrastructure tools. Legislative Decree 257/2016, which transposes the European DAFI Directive, imposes progressive road infrastructure for alternative fuels, linking the planning of electric charging points to the expected diffusion of vehicles. In urban contexts, the regulation of the impact of such a dense fleet is entrusted to the Urban Sustainable Mobility Plans (PUMS), made mandatory by ministerial guidelines for metropolitan cities and municipalities with over one hundred thousand inhabitants. The PUMS represent the local regulatory act designed to combat private hyper-motorisation through the establishment of limited traffic zones, pedestrian areas and circulation disincentives, calibrating their interventions precisely on the quantitative evolution of vehicles registered in the area.