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Fiat Pauses Production Of The Electric 500e Due To Lack Of Sales
Fiat is temporarily shutting down production of the electric 500e model due to a lack of demand for this electric city car.
Stellantis has confirmed that the 500e line at the Mirafiori plant in Turin will be on hiatus for four weeks starting September 13, meaning that for the first time since 2007, no new Fiat 500 of any kind will be produced in Europe.
“This measure is necessary due to the current lack of orders related to the deep difficulties facing all producers in the European electricity market, especially European ones,” Stellantis said in a statement to Reuters.
The SUS-powered Fiat 500, which was built in Poland, went out of production over the summer because it didn’t meet new cybersecurity laws and Fiat didn’t want to spend the money to update it. Production of the 500 with SUS engines has not completely stopped because the model is still built in North Africa, but those versions are not eligible for sale in Europe.
Instead of updating the 500 with SUS engines to keep it on sale, Fiat decided to create a new hybrid model from the electric 500e to accommodate a small internal combustion engine and an electric motor. But that car, the 500 Hybrid, won’t be ready until late 2025 or, more likely, 2026.
The 500 Hybrid will be built alongside the electric vehicle at the historic Mirafiori site, which is receiving a €100 million renovation to be ready for Fiat’s reconfigured electrification plans.
Fiat is not the only automaker that has been forced to change its strategy in the face of much lower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles. Toyota, GM, Ford and even top brands like Aston Martin and Mercedes are either extending the life of their existing internal combustion vehicles or spending extra money to develop new ones.
