Fiat has confirmed its 500 city car will get a mild hybrid sib as an alternative to the 500e model.
The drooping EV market is forcing automakers to alter their plans. Many assumed electric vehicles would replace ICE models eventually. However, with EV incentives tailing off and high prices people are reconsidering their options.
The 500 launched exclusively as an electric city car in 2020. Now Stellantis has announced that a hybrid 500 will join the 500e. It will be produced at the Mirafiori factory from 2026.
The 500 Hybrid will probably use the same mild hybrid technology that Stellantis uses in the Fiat 600 and others. That consists of a turbocharged 1.2-litre petrol engine mated to six-speed dual-clutch auto containing an electric motor. Cars with this powertrain can cover short distances on pure-electric power alone, like in stop-start city traffic. The motor also helps out during regular acceleration.
Fitting this powertrain into the Fiat 500e chassis might not be simple. It uses a different platform from the 600 and the others that feature this mild hybrid system. The 500 is much shorter (3632mm) than those other cars, which is likely to add to the engineering challenges.
Fiat still sells the previous-generation 500 with a petrol 1.2 engine in many places – like New Zealand for instance where it kicks off at $24,990 – but in most it is strictly electric. And the 500e is hardly at a giveaway price either, the tiny four-seater Pop with only 185L of luggage space starts here at $59,990. A hybrid model will fill the price gap nicely between the older 500 base car and the 500e.
With the new 500 receiving a petrol-electric powertrain, it seems possible a hybrid model will be added to the high-performance Abarth 500e line-up. As with the previous-generation model Fiat 500, Abarth also sells the sporty 500 here with a conventional 1.4T engine.
In other 500 news, the 500e is set to receive a new generation of lithium ion battery tech that Fiat believes will make the EV more attractive to potential buyers. It should boost its peak range from 320km currently and make it a more realistic rival to the likes of Mini Cooper SE which have 400km of range.
Stellantis is also talking about a hybrid version of the Jeep Compass, which will also be produced at the Piedmont plant in Italy. It already has a plug-in hybrid variant which you can find reviewed here.
The Italian automaker turns 125 on July 11 and will mark the moment by introducing a brand new fourth-generation Panda. It will join the 600e that’s already on sale in Europe.
Whether or not Fiat will go purely electric by the end of the decade, as it once promised, is unclear. Others, like Ford of Europe, have pushed back their full electric timeline.
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