Fiat is a storied car brand in Europe, with a history dating back to 1899 and an iconic model – the Fiat 500 – marketed in more than 100 countries. But Fiat’s few dealerships in the U.S. are hanging on by a fraying thread, with just the little-loved 500X subcompact SUV to sell for the entire 2022 model year.
In October, Fiat dealerships nationwide sold 59 of them. Ford sells more F-150 pickups in the average hour.
Fiat dealerships are in desperate need of a lifeline. The company will try to give them one, it announced today. Fiat is bringing an all-electric version of its iconic 500 to America for the 2024 model year.
“The new 500e is more than a car. It is a social project to feed America’s appetite for change toward sustainable mobility,” says Fiat CEO Olivier Francois. “We want to introduce America to EVs with our icon, the Fiat 500, because this is the right thing to do.”
Francois spoke at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show. But he promised Fiat would reveal the American version of the car at next year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.
Three Designer Concepts
In the meantime, he appeared with three one-off designer versions of the current car sold in Europe. They included:
- A version customized by Giorgio Armani’s haute couture design house. It features bodywork laser engraved with thousands of microchevrons to bring it as close as possible to the three dimensions of a fabric
- a 500e designed by Kartell with metal, glass, rubber, and plastic all “interpreted in the same color” – the brand’s signature medium blue
- and a Bvlgari-designed 500e painted with gold powder recovered from the jewelry production process
Fiat previously sold a 500e electric car up until the 2019 model year. Francois offered no mechanical details on the new 500e we’ll see in the U.S. next year. The current version of the car sold in Europe offers just 118 horsepower. But its go-kart size and tight handling reportedly make for fun driving at city speeds.
It’s certified for up to 199 miles of range between charges in European testing. But tests by America’s EPA routinely return much shorter ranges.
Fiat would likely lean on the expertise of parent company Stellantis to boost those numbers before bringing the 500e to the U.S. market.
