In the same 24 September cabinet meeting that addressed schooling and asylum, ministers approved a decree-law deferring by 12 months the planned ban on Euro-5 diesel cars and light commercial vehicles in four northern regions—Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna. The original deadline of 1 October 2026 is now pushed back to 1 October 2027. Regional authorities will use the extra year to craft alternative pollution-reduction measures that satisfy EU air-quality limits without imposing blanket driving restrictions on some 3.2 million vehicles still registered in the affected areas. Possible substitutes include congestion pricing, accelerated fleet-renewal incentives and stricter industrial-emission offsets. For corporate mobility programs the postponement is a reprieve. Leasing companies estimate that more than 25 percent of business-fleet vans in the logistics and field-service sectors still run on Euro-5 engines. Delaying the cutoff eases pressure on capital-expenditure budgets and avoids a potential end-of-quarter scramble for compliant vehicles. However, sustainability officers warn that deferring the ban could complicate ESG reporting. Companies that pledged to eliminate Euro-5 diesels from Italian operations by 2026 may need to update targets or invest in voluntary scrappage schemes to stay aligned with emissions-reduction commitments. Local governments insist the extra time will allow them to install the digital enforcement cameras and low-emission-zone signage needed to make the restriction effective once it does take effect. Businesses should therefore treat October 2027 as a hard deadline and plan fleet turnover accordingly.
Source: Agenpress
