Fiat wants to convert its 500e to petrol: what happens?

With declining sales of electric cars and competition, Fiat can no longer maintain operations in its Fiat 500e factories. The electric city car is failing to meet its sales targets. As a solution, the Turin factory wants to convert it to heat.

The historic site of Mirafiori, in Turin, Italy, is only a shadow of its former state. Despite the government’s desire to return car production to the site, only the 500th (500th electric) is currently being produced there. And due to the lack of demand, factories are frequently closed, making it difficult to save workers, while unemployment is constantly increasing.

In addition, the factory assembles Maseratis. So the reliance on electric sales is high, but due to the current low popularity and problems of Fiat in front of the competition, the goal of 100,000 Fiat 500e per year has never been reached in four years. Despite being sold in 44 countries in total, only 185,000 copies were sold by the end of last year.

According to Corriere della Sera, Stellantis would ask its suppliers to evaluate the cost and industrial capacity of increasing the production of Fiat 500e copies to 175,000 per year. Not that the electric city car would become popular again, but the car group with 14 brands would be ready to launch a version with a hot engine.

The 500th… of heat? Yes, even if it seems unlikely, Fiat is reportedly considering releasing an electric version of the car with a petrol engine. This will be the real first for a platform “dedicated” to electricity. Unlike the current Peugeot 208, which offers both engine variants, the Fiat 500e was developed to be electric only.

The plan for a new petrol version of the Fiat 500e would arrive when the current petrol version is withdrawn from the market. A hot example will be the way to continue to sell shares and drive factories, while waiting for 2027 and the new version of the city car, based on the new common platform developed in Stellantis (Small STLA). “Pandina” should be released next year, to strengthen the Panda and offer a model under 25,000 euros.

What is the fuel engine for the electric Fiat 500?

We should expect Fiat to release a hot version with a “Firefly” gasoline engine, with three cylinders of 1.0 with 70 horsepower and a small hybrid. This is the current engine of the Fiat 500 Hybrid. Otherwise, the only other possibility for the brand would be to prepare the 100 hp 1.2 Hybrid unit, which is currently equipped with the Fiat 600. I’m not sure there is a chance, that said.

To see if the smallest block of the group would be enough for example, when it has not only pleased people, on the Fiat 500 Hybrid of 2020. In four years of work, it has never shown itself as more ambitious than 1.2 block (6.1 liters per 100 km), nor more efficient. Also it did not rain for his comfort.

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