Two in one
A striking rumor: the Fiat 500 with combustion engines will be phased out this year and will receive a successor in the form of a fuel version of the now only electrically available Fiat 500e.
There are currently two different Fiats 500. The best known is undoubtedly the one with combustion engines, which is simply called 500. That is basically still the 500 as it started its retro reincarnation in 2007. At almost 17 years old, it is very old by car standards and the end would be very near. It already falls in July Automotive News the cloth, due to new EU safety regulations that the car can no longer comply with. That’s quite a loss for Fiat, because the conventional 500 still sells well. The Fiat 500e, on the other hand, seems to be somewhat disappointing when it comes to sales numbers. Still, that 500th will probably save the day.
Automotive News, which usually has good sources, understands that Fiat is taking the 500e from scratch and preparing it for the use of combustion engines. This would mean that the 500e platform, which was developed by FCA and at the time was purely intended for EVs, also offers space for more conventional powertrains. By developing a fuel 500 on it, Fiat would certainly get much more out of it than now, because the basis was once devised for more cars, but ultimately remained exclusive to the 500e. The strategy has changed due to the merger of FCA with PSA. There is now a base within Stellantis for small EVs that also offers space for combustion engines, but developing a completely new fuel 500 on that basis would probably be more work than adapting the 500e.
This is how we got to know the current Fiat 500 with fuel engines in 2007.
There is a catch: the 500th, which will soon be known as the 500, would not be ready until early 2025. Fiat would like to compensate for this with the current 500 petrol, by building up large stocks in the Polish factory. AutoWeek is awaiting a response from Fiat Netherlands to the rumors. The current 500 is not yet completely finished, because production must continue in Algeria for markets outside the EU. Despite its European end, the 500 is still on its way to becoming one of the Metusalems of the 21st century car industry.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl