Used cars: 55% of Italians believe the future is hybrid and electric
Transparency note: This press release was originally published in Italian. The text has been machine translated. You can find the original press release here.
31% of Italians believe electric vehicles will be the most widespread powertrain in the used car market, while 24% point to hybrids
Almost 1 in 3 Italians has experienced, directly or indirectly, fraud or attempted fraud when buying or selling a used car
40% of respondents feel poorly or not at all prepared to buy a used car independently, with a marked gap between women (54%) and men (25%)
51% of cars checked by users show at least one risk factor, and 43% have at least one recorded damage event
Milan, October 14th 2026 - According to Italians, the future of used cars will be increasingly electrified. In fact, 55% believe that by 2050 electric and hybrid vehicles will dominate the used car market: 31% identify electric as the most widespread powertrain, while 24% favour hybrid. Petrol and diesel stand at 16% and 11% respectively, while smaller shares expect the future to lie with gas, hydrogen or technologies that are not yet available today. These are the findings of research conducted by CARFAX, a company specialising in vehicle history information, among a sample of 1,000 Italians.
The generational breakdown, however, paints a far from uniform picture. Among 18-34-year-olds, 44% see electric as the future, while only 26% of over-55s are confident in this type of powertrain. The size of the municipality also has an impact, albeit to a lesser extent: in large cities, electric vehicles attract 35% of preferences, compared with 27% in small towns. An interesting counter-trend emerges among the youngest respondents: 17% of 18-24-year-olds still choose diesel, the highest percentage of any age group.
"Italians already seem to have a clear idea of where the market is heading, but the transition to increasingly electrified mobility will not depend solely on the availability of new models. In the used car market, trust, access to a vehicle's history and, in the case of hybrid and electric vehicles, the ability to assess their condition and long-term reliability transparently will be crucial," comments Marco Arban, Director of Business Development Europe at CARFAX.
Electric, yes - but range and charging remain central to expectations
For Italians, simply being electric is not enough to make a car automatically more attractive on the used market. More than half (51%) want greater range, 36% shorter charging times and 23% batteries with a longer service life. These are followed by greater battery safety (16%), lower prices on the used market (15%) and lower battery replacement or repair costs (13%).
Expectations for hybrids are also focused primarily on efficiency: 38% would like to be able to travel more kilometres in fully electric mode, 31% want longer-lasting batteries and 23% want lower fuel consumption when the battery is depleted.
Buying a used car remains complex: price, information and expertise are the main obstacles
Beyond expectations around technological progress, CARFAX research shows that buying a used car continues to be perceived as a complex process. For 36% of respondents, the main difficulty is understanding whether the asking price is fair; 32% report incomplete or unreliable information in listings, while another 32% feel they lack the technical knowledge needed to assess a vehicle properly. Only 9% say they encounter no significant issues during the search.
This is also reflected in how Italians assess their own expertise: 40% rate their preparation to buy a used car independently as poor or very poor, while only 27% consider it good or excellent. There is, however, a pronounced gender gap: more than half of women (54%) consider themselves poorly prepared, compared with just 25% of men.
To reduce uncertainty, personal trust remains the most sought-after form of support: 62% would ask someone knowledgeable about cars - such as a friend, family member or colleague - for help. Vehicle history checks rank second, cited by 42%, while 20% would already turn to artificial intelligence tools for support during the purchase process.
Almost one in three Italians has encountered fraud, directly or through someone close to them
Trust becomes even more important in light of fraud experiences. Almost one in three Italians says they have directly or indirectly experienced fraud or attempted fraud in connection with buying or selling a used car. 9% were personally involved as buyers and 3% as sellers; in 10% of cases it happened to a family member and in 9% to a friend or acquaintance.
The phenomenon is particularly significant among 25-34-year-olds, where direct or indirect experience affects one person in two. There are also geographical differences: in municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, the figure rises to 37%, compared with 25% in small towns.
When problematic information emerges, it can have a tangible impact on the purchase decision: among those who have decided not to buy a used vehicle at least once, 49% did so because of issues identified through a vehicle history check, such as damage or mileage anomalies. 30% cite missing documentation, while a further 30% mention false information provided by the seller.
Price nevertheless remains the main driver of the market: 59% consider the lower cost to be the biggest advantage of buying used, while 32% value the opportunity to purchase a higher-category car on a more limited budget. There is also an environmental dimension: 67% say that extending the life of an existing vehicle, thereby reducing the need to manufacture a new one, could encourage them to choose a used car.
More than one in two checked cars shows at least one risk factor
Consumer perceptions are complemented by evidence from checks carried out by Italian users. Among the vehicles checked, 51% show at least one risk factor in their history and 43% have at least one recorded damage event. Damage is concentrated particularly among vehicles aged between five and ten years.
To give an indication of the scale of the issue: if the data observed by CARFAX on checked vehicles were theoretically projected across the entire Italian vehicle fleet, around 20.96 million cars would have at least one risk factor and 16.85 million would have at least one recorded damage event.
The cars checked are on average 8 years old and have 116,000 kilometres on the odometer. 45% have had between three and five owners, 23% two owners and 14% just one owner. 13% also have an import history and, among these vehicles, almost one in two has at least one recorded damage event.
In terms of powertrains, 79% of the cars checked still have combustion engines, with 43% diesel and 36% petrol, while hybrids account for 13% and electric vehicles for 2%. The brands most frequently checked include Fiat (12%), Audi (9%), BMW and Mercedes-Benz (8% each), and Volkswagen (7%).
A particularly interesting segment concerns vehicles that changed ownership during 2026: they account for 32% of the cars checked. Among those that changed hands in the first eight months of the year, four in ten had at least one recorded damage event. Their average age is 8 years and average mileage 116,000 kilometres; 11% have an import history and more than half (54%) have had between three and five owners.
"The used car market offers a clear economic advantage and will continue to play a central role in how Italians get around. This makes transparency even more important: when more than one in two checked cars has at least one risk factor and more than four in ten show recorded damage, knowing what has happened to a vehicle before purchase can make a real difference. A vehicle history report should not replace other checks, but it should become a natural part of the decision-making process," Arban concludes.