To ask for a car with the new social rental of up to 100 euros per month, one of the first things to communicate will be the license plate of the car you already have. And it will have to go to the wrecker. The program designed by the Government to make mobility more accessible to families with low incomes starts from a rather precise condition: you must own a car up to Euro 4 that can be scrapped.
The rest, at least on paper, is interesting. The implementing decree of the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy of 3 July 2026 provides for a 36-month contract, no advance payment and a social fee that cannot exceed 100 euros per month, VAT included. Inside there is insurance, ordinary and extraordinary maintenance, roadside assistance and other services. What remains outside is fuel or charging, any additional services and, of course, fines and costs attributable to the motorist.
Before opening your wallet, however, it is useless to open Google to search for the form: the questions have not started yet. MIMIT and ACI will have to officially communicate the opening of the IT desk.
To enter you already need a car
The measure is reserved for natural persons resident, including for tax purposes, in Italy with an ISEE of less than 30,000 euros. Alongside the economic requirement, however, there is one that narrows the field considerably: the applicant must scrap a car of category M1, up to Euro 4, registered in Italy and registered in his name or to a family member who has been living with him for at least twelve months. Motorcycles, scooters and vans cannot take its place.
The consequence is quite curious. MIMIT presents the program as a tool to promote access to mobility for low-income families. Those who belong to a low-income family and don’t have a car, however, cannot access the program. You need an old car to get the new one.
And it’s not worth getting rid of it now. At the time of the application it will be necessary to indicate the license plate, while the scrapping certificate must be delivered to ACI within 30 days before the expected delivery of the new car. The costs of demolition remain the responsibility of the beneficiary.
The ISEE under 30 thousand euros alone is not enough
The name “social rental” might make you think that it is enough to respect the ISEE threshold. The decree asks for something more.
You must have a permanent employment contract or a pension; alternatively, you must have submitted a tax return in each of the three previous tax periods. You also need a bank or postal account, a credit card and at least a B driving licence. The decree also excludes anyone who has been protested, reported to the Central Credit Register or has some of the other conditions indicated among the eligibility requirements.
Those who have already benefited from the car incentives provided for by the Prime Ministerial Decrees of 2022 or 2024 are also excluded. And the benefit cannot be multiplied within the family: the decree also considers cohabiting family members to avoid multiple accesses to the same program.
So yes, the ISEE must be low. However, the future motorist must also present himself with a stable job, a pension or three tax returns behind him, a current account, credit card, driving license and a car to sacrifice. The “social” has a rather long entry list.
The economic advantage, once through the door, is substantial. The contract cannot provide for any advance payment and includes RCA, theft and fire, Kasko, coverage for vandalism, glass and natural events, maintenance, initial all-season tyres, 24-hour roadside assistance and replacement car in the cases provided for in the contract. However, insurance will have deductibles: up to 250 euros for RCA and 500 euros for Kasko, while for theft and fire 10% of the damage is expected, within a maximum of 1,000 euros.
The kilometers included are 12,000 per year, therefore 36,000 in the three-year period. Going further will be possible by paying extra according to rates that must be communicated before signing.
“Low emissions” reaches up to 135 grams of CO2
Then there is the car. And here the adjective used by the program deserves a little closer look.
The Government speaks of “low emission vehicles”, but the decree allows new cars at least Euro 6 with emissions of up to 135 grams of CO2 per kilometre. The Italian measure, therefore, will not exclusively finance electric cars: cars with combustion engines that respect the threshold can also be included. It is a substantial difference compared to French social leasing, aimed at electric vehicles. The ICA magazine itself highlights this distance between the two programs.
Furthermore, the list price of the chosen vehicle cannot exceed 14,800 euros excluding VAT, options included. The brand and model will not be chosen by the beneficiary: ACI will identify them through a public procedure.
So no configurator open for half an hour arguing about color. You will take what the program makes available.
At the end of the three years the car can be purchased by the same user. Anyone wishing to do so will have to express their interest within 90 days and will be entitled to a discount of at least 10% compared to the average market prices at the time. The redemption price, therefore, is not known today.
For now we are talking about around 3,000 cars
The program was born as an experiment and should remain active until 30 June 2030. The Automotive Prime Ministerial Decree of 10 June 2026 and the subsequent implementing decree allocate 50 million euros from the residuals of the 2025 Automotive Fund upon its launch. A further 3.66 million at most are expected between 2027 and 2030 for management costs.
The much higher figures circulated in recent days instead concern the resources of the Automotive Fund as a whole, also used for interventions that have nothing to do with social rental. The 50 million are the initial allocation written in the decree. ACI estimates that the first phase could involve around 3,000 cars.
And here the order of arrival will have its weight. The decree establishes that the cars are assigned respecting the chronological order in which the applications were submitted, once all the requirements have been verified. When the available fleet is sold out, MIMIT and ACI will close bookings.
When it will happen has not yet been announced. First ACI must choose the cars through the race and the electronic counter must be set up. The program, therefore, exists and the rules are there. The 100 euro per month car, for now, cannot yet be booked. And above all, don’t take the old one to the wrecker ahead of time.
