Just before the corona crisis, Fiat put the brand new electric 500E out of the hat. A car that Fiat has great ambitions for, according to an exclusive interview by Techzle with Fiat’s European director, Luca Napolitano.
Fiat wants to play a pioneering role in electrified vehicles, according to Napolitano. “That is a very ambitious goal, but one that has an icon like the 500 written on the classic body.” There is therefore a heavy burden on the shoulders of the compact Italian: “The New 500E should simply become the leader in its segment, just like the versions with classic engines have always been.”
We wonder if the price is not too high for that? “There are some misunderstandings about the price. The full-option La Prima version of the Convertible will cost € 38,900, not the closed base version of the New 500E. We have not yet communicated what the price will be. ” After the interview, the close 500 like La Prima also received a price tag. In the Netherlands it costs at least € 35,900, but no trace of the basic version is yet to be found in the price list. Napolitano does give an indication of what that basic 500E should cost: “You can however assume that our offer will be competitive, both with the Mini Electric and the duo Opel Corsa-e and Peugeot e-208.” Prices for that EVs in some cases start a few thousand euros lower.
The European director further explains in the interview that the current regular 500 and Panda will remain in production for the time being. “They are our most successful models with a combined output of almost 400,000 units per year, so it would simply be impossible to delete them.”
The new electric 500 has a 119 hp electric motor on board with a 42 kWh battery pack in the bottom. This gives the Fiat a WLTP range of 320 kilometers. The little Italian shoots in 100 seconds at a speed of 100 km / h and his top speed is 150 km / h.
The entire interview with Luca Napolitano was in Techzle 24 and can be found here. You can order the entire number via this link.