Fiat had no choice but to pause production of the 500e several times due to low demand. Realizing the situation wasn’t improving, the company announced last year that it would fit its smallest hatchback with a gasoline engine. A new production line at the Mirafiori plant is already operational and is currently building pre-production cars. Customer vehicles will begin rolling off the assembly line in November. By year’s end, about 5,000 units are expected to leave the factory.
Fiat’s CEO, Olivier Francois, describes the gas-powered model as “the 500 for real people, the pragmatic 500.” It starts at €17,000 ($20,000) in Italy. Ok, it’s not exactly cheap, but still about €5,000 (nearly $6,000) less than the purely electric version. Although it’s no bargain, it’s worth noting that Italians pay a 22% value-added tax (VAT). As with the EV, the combustion-powered 500 will be offered in three configurations: hatchback, convertible, and the asymmetrical 3+1 with an additional rear-hinged door on the passenger side.
Photo by: Fiat
Although the platform wasn’t originally designed to accommodate a combustion engine, the 500 now features a small three-cylinder unit in the form of a 1.0-liter mild-hybrid unit producing 70 horsepower. This engine is carried over from the previous-generation 500 and the aging Panda, which Fiat has been selling since 2011. The FireFly-family engine is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, with no mention yet of an automatic option.
We can assume that removing the battery pack significantly reduces weight. Until Fiat releases full technical specifications, it’s worth remembering that the 500e weighs 1,255 kilograms (2,767 pounds) with the smaller 24-kWh battery. The larger 42-kWh pack increases the weight to around 1,340 kg (2,952 lbs). Visually, the gas and electric versions are nearly identical, except for a horizontal front grille slat added to cool the combustion engine.
The 500 Hybrid’s launch comes at a time when Stellantis is concerned it may have to scale back production of gasoline vehicles to avoid EU fines for exceeding fleet-wide emissions targets. Fiat’s parent company has until the end of 2027 to comply with the newly imposed regulations. Ironically, if the gas model is a sales success, it could make achieving those targets more difficult by increasing average CO₂ emissions. Stellantis will need to ramp up EV sales to offset the added emissions and avoid penalties.
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Source: Stellantis
Fiat is introducing the gas-powered 500 as part of an effort to revitalize the plant in Turin, which produced only 25,000 cars last year despite having the capacity to build 100,000 annually. Sluggish demand for the 500e prompted the Stellantis brand to rethink its strategy and manufacture both the combustion and electric variants under the same roof.
Its performance division, Abarth, is set to bid farewell to gas engines, citing steep taxes in Europe on cars with higher emissions. Consequently, don’t expect a hot hatch version of the gas 500. Instead, a sporty Abarth-badged 500e is available, and even a 600e crossover.
