Alexandre
The article about the discontinuation of the Fiat 500 petrol model has caused quite a stir. So much so that Fiat France wanted to clarify a few points and justify its choice.
Factory order vs. stock order
Yes, it's no longer possible to order a petrol Fiat 500 in France. With a nuance. It's still possible to order a Fiat 500 from stock, but it can't be custom-configured at the factory.
So if you want to buy a petrol Fiat 500 today, you can always go to the dealership Fiatand the sales representative will analyze your request to find a new vehicle in stockto your needs.
A choice guided by sales of the electric 500
However, this situation is, for the moment, restricted to France.. It would still be possible to place factory orders in other European countries.
Fiat France's justification for this choice is somewhat surprising. Indeed, it is, 72 % of Fiat 500 sales in the first 9 months of 2023 are electric. And this figure is only set to rise with 76 % sales in September 2023!
So we compared sales figures for the electric 500 in France vs. Europe.
In France, 17,450 electric 500s were registered in 9 months. In Europe, we don't yet have the figures for September 2023, but at an average of 5,200 registrations/month, we'd arrive at around 47,000 registrations in Europe in 9 months.
France would thus account for some 40 % of total registrations of the electric 500. Hence the decision to halt factory orders for the combustion-powered 500 in France alone. To give you an idea, in Italy, in August 2023, there will be 135 electric Fiat 500s for 2131 petrol-hybrid Fiat 500s...
But is the end of Fiat 500 petrol production at the Tychy plant really scheduled for 2023? Fiat France has no answer to this question.
And meanwhile, they're putting the 500e factory on hold for lack of sales.
The French are a pain, wanting electric cars! We see a lot of Fiat 500e, it's true.
The Fiat 500e is very good, no question about it.
Dear Stanislas, I don't know where you live but here.... No one has bought a 500e and almost all of them drive an Abarth. The proof that it doesn't work and it was Stellantis who announced it.
https://youtu.be/PxDG3IBnoEo?si=SzEnU91m1HwHvQuF
I live in France, the land of malus and other abusive taxes.
I also live part of the time in Haute Savoie, and I'm sorry to say I've never seen one. We can't even call it abusive any more, but outright authorized theft.
People have bought them, and it's even been one of the best-selling electric cars in recent months. As France is Fiat's second largest market in Europe, the overwhelming majority of these tens of thousands of models can be found... mostly in big cities, and not in the mountains, of course.
But of course, so they close temporarily for what reason then? Because they forgot to mop the floor? It's got to be at least that, because a factory 🏭 that's big.
"Sharp drop in demand
Production of the Fiat 500e was halted for the first time at the beginning of October, and will also be halted between October 19 and November 3. The 2,400 employees affected by this decision will all be on short-time working.
The third best-selling electric vehicle in Europe last year, Italy's little zero-emission microchip now seems to be being shunned by motorists. Just over 41,000 registrations have been recorded on the European market since the start of the year, a sign that demand is waning!"
Because they refuse to have stock, so they only produce what they need. From memory, the Fiat 500e was the second best-selling electric car in France between November 2021 and November 2022. This car is well-designed, pretty, pleasant to drive (thanks to its 95 standard horsepower - don't confuse horsepower with kilowatts), is produced in Turin (so it will keep the French bonus) and has an elegant, timeless design, it's a totally successful new generation. The media love to talk about EV production stoppages, but the same thing is happening with combustion engines, particularly at Fiat, which specializes in short-time working at the expense of the Italian state...
People simply don't want to pay that much for a 4-wheeled vehicle, because that's exactly what the 500e is.
While MG is starting to bury everyone with their electric vehicles.
Their electric vehicles look like war cripples, with mediocre assistants and lousy suspension...
Because they don't want to have any stock... but it's crazy to have such blinkers on... it's marked by everything "because they can't reach their target and even Stellantis says so themselves but no Fredo has decided that demand is high, no problem, we're putting everyone on holiday because they're overworked.
You can spit all you want on the MG... only the result counts. Just like VAG and Stellantis... their electric cars don't sell.
All this is why Peugeot has always made shit and will always make shit while taxpayers pay for their bullshit all the time!
It's not at Fiat or FCA that, twice in its history, the state has had to become a shareholder to prevent Peugeot from ending up in China... and that's a shame, because that would have meant one less piece of crap, and who decided to put the factories on hold???? Tavares, as usual.
In fact, it's only the result that counts: the 500e (a car that's a real pleasure to drive and puts a smile on your face, no matter what Ced says, who only wants Italian models with 900 horsepower and a price tag of 1.5 million) will keep the 5,000-euro bonus, while the MG will not. We'll see in 2024 if SAIC can achieve the same results in Europe...
I obviously didn't say that demand was high, I said that they refused to produce stock and force the network to buy it, thus running the lines for nothing. If there's less demand (we've got a huge inflation problem at the moment, and that goes for new combustion models too), they stop producing. That's all there is to it.
In the land of the blind, the milestone is king, because I never said that you only needed cars with 900hp and 1.5 million but at least the ultra-limited series sell and are profitable and the proof once again, other limited series will see the light of day. And I'm not distorting anything Fredo, but it's you who's refusing to face up to the fact that the factories are well and truly on hiatus due to a sales problem with the 500e that's melting like snow.
The MC12, 33 and other limited series are living proof of this.
But according to Fredo, a mito, an ugly Bsuv or other such beasts are more profitable.... But it's weird, the figures prove the opposite.
We can talk about the Tonale too... but what a success, they sell at least 100,000 a month.🤣
It's true that we see a lot of Fiat 500e in the cities.
On the other hand, if you live in mountainous regions, electric cars are unsuitable.
This summer I went for a drive in the Dolomites. I rented an Abarth 595, and I would never have taken an Abarth 500e (which was not yet available from rental companies), as it would have been a pain to recharge. What's more, an electric car quickly discharges itself if you use it at all.
You're right, and not when it comes to mountains. There's also the fact that batteries can't handle altitude.
The proof is that the MG shatters these records, but I've never seen one either.
https://www.caradisiac.com/mg-cartonne-et-a-deja-depasse-ses-objectifs-de-vente-2023-204802.htm
So Fredo, electric cars are the best solution in town, but outside of town... they're an unmitigated nightmare.
And petrol Abarths are sure to follow, at !!!!
Nonsense, what a waste !!!!!
People will go abroad to buy it.
https://www.largus.fr/actualite-automobile/pourquoi-fiat-arrete-plusieurs-modeles-en-france-dont-les-panda-500-et-500x-30029856.html?utm_medium=Social&at_medium=custom3&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR0HeO9xrg1Bt6DYEtefCHu-4PWhVTyeplj3GZ7EPYVQUM87GqVT2tshZHU#Echobox=1697120380
😡😡😡
I got an email from Fiat it's suspended the time to present the MY24 versions in a few weeks so finally there is no reason to make news 🙂
They'd better or they're going to put a bullet in their foot!
They'd better not, or they'll shoot themselves in the foot (I'm sick and tired of the iPhone changing words for me!) 😡
Ah, but even the Tipo goes into the pot?
Yeah, it's a funny kind of organization, I'm no fan of Renault but the 1st project of merging with Renault would have been more complementary....they stop models then start again or they take 4 years to bring out the new model, frankly it's hard to understand. When psa took over opel, the new cars were all renewed within a few months.
Except that the 4 years that have enabled the Giulia to come out and the fact of a total change of:
-Platforms (Giorgio) aren't made in 5 minutes, and even ask Lexus and they'll tell you the same thing, since it took them 10 years to develop the LS400 platform and 6 for the IS200.
-engine development, transmissions, etc.
Another example:
For Ferrari (who don't waste any time), it took them 5 years to develop the new Maserati MK5 platform, which is why they had to make an Evoluzione of the MK4.
PSA didn't change all the Opels overnight (the proof is in the Insignia), and started from an existing platform... in short, there's really no comparison, and the Opel GT we've been hearing so much about 🗣️ under PSA... never came out, nor the new Vectra, nor the Citroën or DS coupes.
As for a merger with the Alliance, I don't think it would have been profitable for FCA, especially with the Renault/Nissan turf war. But the worst mistake was refusing to merge with Mazda at the time, which would have been more profitable than Chrysler and PSA (which was thrown out not twice, but 3 times).
An alliance with Mazda would have meant a collaboration with Toyota, which would have hit the jackpot 🎰 for Fiat.
Clearly, the best alliance would have been Mazda or Suzuki. As for development, I'm well aware that the chassis is more complex to build than the engine, but with each model it's the same: it's like they're not anticipating anything. The Punto, which sold well because it was neither too small nor too big, still hasn't been replaced.
It's FCA's fault for not making a new Punto on the existing chassis. As for the Fiat brand, I've never understood how it works. The Fiat coupé sells well... it's discontinued, the same for the 124, the Barchetta, the Punto... etc. How they work has always been a mystery.