Europe’s best-selling Fiat keeps its combustion engine for a long time

It’s not just the pandas who enjoy salsa dancing once a year that are threatened with extinction. The beautiful Fiat Panda may also disappear due to new safety requirements that will come into force from this summer. Fortunately, Fiat is putting a stop to that. Ideally, a (relatively) cheap car should last well into old age.

From July 7, 2024, all new cars sold in the European Union must comply with the updated General Safety Regulations. From then on, new cars must be equipped with a voice recorder (EDR), intelligent speed assistant (ISA), lane assist, fatigue detection, automatic emergency braking and alcohol lock preparation. These are all functions that are not currently available in the current Panda.

Brands such as Porsche and Toyota have already phased out older models due to the new guidelines. You would think that a 12-year-old Panda would also be put on the chopping block. But fortunately: the brand remains Climb to 2030 to build. The brand says this is done to continue supplying affordable cars to customers. This would make the current generation of Panda a have a life of 19 years.

How much does a Fiat Panda cost these days?

You can buy a Panda in the Netherlands for at least 18,640 euros. The Cold Cross version costs at least 20,640 euros. That’s not as cheap as it used to be, but there are no cheap cars anymore. Hopefully Fiat can copy Dacia’s trick and keep the same price. It is likely that the current Panda will be named ‘Pandina’.

Next year, the Fiat Panda with a combustion engine will be joined by the new Panda. This version is only available as an EV. Fiat has already shown what the Panda will look like with a set of study models. If all goes well, this electric car will come as a pick-up.