- Fiat will bring the adorable electric Fiat Topolino minicar to the U.S., the company has announced
- With a top speed of 28 mph, it won’t be usable on all roads
It’s adorable. It’s small. It should be inexpensive. And it’s coming to roads (sort of) near you.
Stellantis, parent company of Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and other brands, announced this week that it will bring the tiny Fiat Topolino to the U.S.
An electric vehicle (EV) closer to a golf cart than to a Durango, the Topolino likely won’t be legally classified as a car. It has a top speed of 28 mph.
However, there are legal gray areas in some states that permit inexpensive, car-like vehicles to operate on urban roads with low speed limits. Manufacturers like Gem and Club Car market them to colleges, corporate campuses, retirement communities, and other locations with limited access roads.
Spunky Style, Charging From a Wall Outlet
- The Topolino has a reported range of about 50 miles, but recharges without the need for an EV charging station
In Europe, the Topolino is classified as an “electric quadricycle,” CNBC reports. That allows owners to treat them much like scooters – usable on city streets but not higher-speed roads.
The Detroit News adds, “Suitcase storage is available using a rack mounted to the back. Battery range checks in at about 50 miles, and the Topolino charges using a cable that’s plugged into a standard household outlet.”
The existing options in its class tend to look utilitarian. The Topolino brings style to the segment. Its name means “little mouse” in Italian, and its bubble shape and flat face lend themselves to personalization.
Oliver Francois, Fiat CEO, announced that the car was bound for the States at an event showcasing a Topolino repainted by artist Romero Britto – not the kind of thing Club Car typically does for marketing.
We’ve suspected the Topolino was bound for America for a while. It appeared at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show without explanation. The announcement came just after President Trump announced hopes to legalize tiny Japanese-style kei cars in America.
A Stellantis spokesperson told CNBC the announcement was not tied to the president’s comments. But new attention to kei cars can’t be bad for Fiat’s plans.
It remains unclear how the U.S. will handle crash tests and other legal hurdles to ultra-small cars, but the Topolino would likely qualify under any legal structure to advance kei cars.
Fiat Could Use More Products in the U.S.
- Fiat sells a full lineup of vehicles in Europe, but just one model in the U.S.
Fiat dealers, meanwhile, could use a boost. The company has just one car for sale in the U.S. today – the Fiat 500e urban runabout. The limited lineup has been a problem. Nationwide, Fiat dealers sold just 84 vehicles in July.
The company has recently mused about resurrecting its high-energy gas-powered variant, the 500 Abarth. A lineup of the 500e, the Topolino, and the Abarth would make Fiat dealers the ultimate sellers of automotive quirk.
