Alexandre
In 2007, Fiat relaunched an automotive icon, the 500. Still in production to this day, breaking longevity records, the new electric 500 is not likely to follow the same path. Indeed, it is, Stellantis plans to replace this car after only a few years in the business.
In 2020, right in the middle of the covid period, Olivier François, the brand's CEO, presented the new electric 500. This new model is different from the previous one in many ways. Developed on a completely new platform, only available in 100 % electric, and made in Italy.
If no official marketing objective had been announced, Olivier François had initially said he wanted to produce 100,000 electric Fiat 500s a year, before changing his mind and opting for 80,000. In the end, sales of the electric 500 plateau with 66,000 units in 2022 and 65,000 units in 2023, mainly thanks to France and Germany. It is likely that 2024 will be at the same level despite model launch in the USA a few months ago.
There are many reasons why sales fall short of targets. But a simple way to boost sales would be to lower the price of the. By way of comparison, the electric 500 costs €30,400 for a 70 kw motor, an electric 600 €35,900 for 115 kw, and the Citroën e-C3, the technical cousin of the future Fiat Panda, costs €23,300 for 83 kw. It may be a few thousand euros too expensive.
Although full of quality, the fact that the current electric 500 is made at Mirafiori (with Maseratis), and without the possibility (or desire) of pooling The Abarth's unique platform limits investment and development. The other obvious case is that of the 500 Abarth, on the same platform, with its 155 hp, while the 600 Abarth, on the CMP platform, should offer 240 hp.
This is why, in the Fiat 2029 product plan unveiled a few days ago, a new electric 500 based on the STLA Small platform is scheduled for 2027 (if no delay). She will share the Stellantis 2028 roadmapThe Stellantis platform will be used by the future Peugeot 2008, Peugeot 208, Opel Corsa, DS3 Crossback, Opel Mokka and Citroën C4 models. This is Stellantis' solution for pooling development and manufacturing costs, enabling us to offer competitively-priced models with market-level performance.
With a real range of less than 150 kilometers, this 500 can only be used in the city, and even then! As for Stellantis' pooling of resources, the result is soulless cars, with only the front grilles to differentiate them.
It's €10,000 too expensive, and let's not talk about the Abarth.
But then there's the fact that many customers want to stick with combustion engines and the pleasures that come with them, and that's perfectly understandable, because it's not just the 500s that are stagnating, but all EVs, whatever they may be.
If the 500e is preferred to its stellantis competitors, it's not because of its size, it's despite its size: its qualities more than compensate for this shortcoming.
If a future 500e adopts the Stellantis technical base, it will have nothing but defects compared to its cousins, and therefore no interest whatsoever: aesthetics will no longer suffice.
I had an electric 500 in November sold in December a horror to buy an Abarth the km is a horror the battery melts like snow in the sun too bad it is beautiful but electric is not at the point
Can you explain your particular use and the battery capacity chosen? There are all kinds of vehicles suitable for all kinds of uses, but apparently there's a misunderstanding somewhere...
What the 500 also lacks is a single antagonistic door, which is a shame.
The Fiat 500e is pleasant in town and for short journeys, but the range of the 95hp base version is insufficient. So you have to opt for the more expensive 118 hp version. What's more, we're back to the same problem: if the infrastructure for charging stations isn't up to scratch, as it is in southern Europe, you can't buy it, which limits sales.
A hybrid version would be a big hit, but Fiat doesn't want to offer it.
Replacing it quickly with a platform common to other Stellantis cars will only allow one thing: to sell it more cheaply.
But even if you sell it cheaper on the new platform, there's no guarantee that people will want it.
As you put it so well, hybrids are the solution, not all-electric, and many are starting to turn to hydrogen.
A Swiss study has led to the discontinuation of subsidies for hybrids on the grounds of uselessness.
They stopped it for EVs because, as already said in other articles some time ago, it's above all because they've proved that the electric car, between its construction and elimination and its charging, has nothing ecological about it. That's why they're even taxed like the others now, which is normal. It's not for hybrids but for EVs that they've stopped everything, even tax exemptions for the purchase of these vehicles.
In short, some countries are thinking things through.
I suggest you google "Swiss hybrid".
2022 : Plug-in hybrid vehicles are a (moderate), says Valais study -> Canton Valais reacts by cutting subsidies for this type of propulsion system
2024: the proportion of electric vehicles has risen sharply, and the price of electrified models imported into Switzerland "is approaching that of internal combustion vehicles". The end of the tax exemption takes effect on January 1, 2024.
Nowhere does it say that EVs have been proven to be environmentally unfriendly, quite the contrary.
It's still not practical, especially outside built-up areas, it lacks autonomy, it's not spacious and it's very expensive, as I've seen in the new product entering the Algerian market, and I strongly urge the marketing of the Doblo tourist in its new type, thank you.
It's not the 500e's vocation to be spacious, nor a great traveler, nor a low-cost car, for that you have the MG or the Tesla.
The 500e is perfectly suited to its niche as a practical, middle-class city car.
In fact, it's perfect for the countryside, where journeys are frequent and fuel-intensive, and where everyone has an outlet outside the house.
no doubt the Stellantis version will feature a combustion engine; that's the Tavares doxa
FAN DE FIÂT 500 but too expensive and not enough range
For the extra city
Review the price and plan to go hybrid
I went to the Abarth 500e configurator: for the best-equipped model, the Turismo, taking 2 options, paint and sound pack, we arrive at the modest sum of €43,250. For just 155 bhp and a top speed limited to 155 km/h, not to mention an excessively short range, it's really too expensive, even with the 5,000€ bonus. The old 180 hp thermal Abarth was more powerful and much less expensive.
The same goes for the Fiat 500e: the 118hp La Prima version, with just the paint option, costs €38,750. That's a bit steep for a city car.