There are still many points to be clarified regarding the details and implementation of the draft decree through which the Government "introduces, for 2027, an exemption from vehicle tax payment for one vehicle." As stated in the official communiqué from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, "natural persons who own a car will benefit from this, as well as taxable subjects such as those who use the vehicle under a leasing or rental agreement."
While it is clear that the regulation concerns cars with a power output of up to 80 kW, the type of engine remains to be clarified: the draft mentions petrol and diesel engines and "also hybrid-powered" ones — a phrase that could suggest application not only to small mild hybrids but also to more powerful plug-in hybrids (rechargeable hybrids), in which a petrol engine serves to supply energy to the battery. The question that will need to be clarified in the implementing decree is whether the 80 kW limit should apply — as is currently the case for determining the vehicle tax amount — to the thermal unit alone or to the entire propulsion system, which, precisely due to the presence of the electric component, reaches power outputs well above 80 kW.
For the time being — and barring any radical changes — vehicles that would benefit from the exemption include new cars such as the Fiat Panda and 500 with the same 1.0 FireFly Hybrid engine (51 kW / 70 hp); the Fiat 600 and the Lancia Ypsilon with the same 1.2 Hybrid unit (74 kW / 100 hp). The Alfa Romeo Junior 1.2 Hybrid, which has 100 kW, is not currently on the list, but a future entry-level version will be.
Remaining within the Stellantis world, vehicles benefiting from the exemption include the Jeep Avenger 1.2 Petrol, Hybrid and e-Hybrid (74 kW / 100 hp), the Peugeot 208 1.2 PureTech petrol and in its Hybrid variant (55 kW / 75 hp and 74 kW / 100 hp respectively) — an engine also found in the eligible Peugeot 2008, Citroën C3, Citroën C3 Aircross, Opel Corsa (which also offers a 55 kW / 75 hp version) and Opel Mokka.
If the issue regarding the thermal engine limit for plug-in models were to be clarified, vehicles eligible for the exemption would include, for example, the Renault Captur E-Tech Plug-in Hybrid and Megane E-Tech Plug-in Hybrid, which use the same 1.6 petrol unit producing 68 kW (total combined power 160 hp), and the Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid (first and second generation), Ceed Sportswagon Plug-in Hybrid and Xceed Plug-in Hybrid, powered by a 1.6 GDI thermal engine producing 77 kW (total combined power 141 or 183 hp).
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