More than 60 years ago, the Fiat 500 was nothing more than a charmingly designed city car, but that is different today. In 2021, the Fiat 500 is a hip hybrid city car, a crossover, an MPV and even a fully electric car. The electric 500e has been on the market for a little over a year now, AutoWeek asked the Dutch importer how the electric 500 is doing so far.
The 500 family is big. Very large. Fiat has a compact crossover in the range in the form of the 500X and even delivers a true space giant with the 500L that is laced with 500 DNA. The family also consists of the more famous regular 500, a further development of the car that breathed new life into the 500 bloodline in 2007 only available with a hybrid powertrain. Next to the 500’s Hybrid is the 500e, a fully electric 500 based on its own design, which, like its hybrid brother, has various body styles.
Fiat 500 3+1
Since the market introduction of the electric Fiat 500e in November last year, just over a thousand units have been sold in the Netherlands. The electric 500e is not only available as a Berlina, but like the 500 Hybrid also as a Cabrio. That’s not all, the 500e can also be ordered as a 3+1, with a rear-hinged rear door. It will come as no surprise that the conventional closed version, the Fiat 500e Berlina, is the most popular. About 60 percent of the Fiat 500e sold is a Berlina, while roughly 30 percent of buyers go for the 500e Cabrio. The remaining 10 percent is therefore accounted for by the unruly but so practical Fiat 500e 3+1.
Basic version: function elsewhere?
The Fiat 500e is available with two powertrains, although the lightest version of the bunch is reserved for the absolute basic version of the 500E Berlina. That dense 500e is available as Action, a variant with a 24 kWh battery and a 95 hp electric motor. That variant is good for a modest WLTP range of 190 kilometers. According to the Dutch importer, the share of that engine version in the 500th sales is exactly 0 percent.
The Fiat 500e’s other powertrain consists of a 42 kWh battery and a 118 hp electric motor. All 500e body styles are available with this powertrain. Depending on the chosen body and version, the WLTP range of the Fiat 500e with 42 kWh battery is between 298 kilometers and 321 kilometers. In terms of performance, you can choose from the Passion, Business, Icon and the lavishly dressed La Prima. In total, 40 percent of the Fiat 500e sold is La Prima, which may be due to the fact that the La Prima was the first version in which you could order the 500th Berlina and 500th Cabrio. With a share of 30 percent of total sales, the Icon version is the most popular after the La Prima, followed by the Business (25 percent) and the Passion (5 percent).
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl