Monday 30th May 2022

Electrified Fiats only from July

The purely petrol-powered Fiat is no more, with all models hybridised or electric from the summer

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Fiat has confirmed that it will drop non-electrified models from its UK range as soon as July 1st. Perhaps no biggie in the grand scheme of things - more than 60 per cent of its 2021 line up was hybrid or electric - but it feels significant for a manufacturer as well established as Fiat. Doesn’t seem so long ago it was building its own take on the Mazda MX-5 with a parpy 1.4 turbo (because it wasn’t, really), though time is moving awfully fast in automotive right now. Fiat is just making its move a little sooner than others.

Let’s not forget, either, how many electrified cars are already in the Fiat range; it’s maybe not quite the giant leap it first seems. The new 500 is electric only, plus the Panda and old 500 are offered with mild hybrid options. The most significant range change will be for the 500X and Tipo, previously offered with conventional powertrains and with the hybrid option - a 1.5-litre four-cyl turbo with 48-volt starter generator - available from February. Again, that won’t sound like big news to the average PHer, but Fiat has sold more than a million Tipos since its launch and in excess of 750,000 500Xs. Even the small advantages of the new ‘Firefly’ 1.5 engine will make a difference with that sort of volume.

Greg Taylor, Fiat and Abarth UK MD, said: “This step in Fiat’s history marks a pivotal point in our commitment to providing affordable and sustainable mobility solutions for all of our customers. The move lends itself to our vehicles which are suited to urban areas, spearheaded by the popularity of the new 500.”

Fair point - nothing is more Fiat than the 500, and it has taken to electric power just nicely. But it does make you wonder what this move might mean for the future of Abarth 500s - because how does that car manage without its raucous four-cylinder soundtrack?

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[anonymous-user]

Ah, excellent! An even more garishly styled, more expensive, limited range FIAT 500! Just what I wanted!

I'll be keeping my 2006 1.1 8v Panda a while longer, it seems.

[KarlMac]

I honestly forgot that the 500X existed and now I’m mad at you for reminding me

[V12GT]

We have two Fiats in the fleet - a Panda for teenage drivers and dog duties and a 500C.

Neither would be improved with the additional weight of a hybrid engine. New equivalents aren’t cheap either - approximately 60% more AFTER inflation, so that extra complication comes at a cost.

[dunnoreally]

Hardly surprising. The mild hybrids are very mild indeed if I recall correctly, so this is hardly the turning point Fiat marketing says it is. Still, I think the 500e provides quite god range for its price. I'm sure we'll see the same guts make their way into the Panda very soon (although I genuinely do not remember the last time I saw a Panda, now that I come to think of it).

[anonymous-user]

Mild hybrid = Shoe box sized battery and a starter motor sized motor on the gearbox. These will not be considered hybrids in the 2030 new ICE sales Cull as the range on battery is zero.

[W12AAM]

Now is the time to buy one of the last fully spec'd PETROL Abarth 500's....Use it ....and then sell it for the same or MORE than you paid for it in a few years time...
And anyway; Part of the attraction of owning an Abarth is the noise, surely?
Really depresses me all these bland, electric cars....

[steveb8189]

V12GT said:

We have two Fiats in the fleet - a Panda for teenage drivers and dog duties and a 500C.

Neither would be improved with the additional weight of a hybrid engine. New equivalents aren’t cheap either - approximately 60% more AFTER inflation, so that extra complication comes at a cost.

oh don't be so dramatic. Mild hybrid adds pretty much no weight and the prices are actually less than the 1.2 petrol. Think you're just getting confused about the market-wide price inflation

[Almani]

"This step in Fiat’s history marks a pivotal point in our commitment to providing affordable and sustainable mobility solutions for all of our customers. The move lends itself to our vehicles which are suited to urban areas, spearheaded by the popularity of the new 500.”

I love all this marketing speak ......... The reality is that here in Italy which of course is one of its biggest markets, outside the main cities, the average household power supply is just 3kw - just enough to power a 3 bar electric fire but certainly no chance of boiling a kettle at the same time. When FIAT origninally stated it was going all electric (no hybrids), a large number the existing FIAT 500, Panda 4x4 users and of course Jeep, asked the question 'how was that going to work' in this very rural and largely agricultural economy.

I live in Lazio, home of the Capital Rome, but even here I have only seen one Electric 500, and in the local main dealer, they only have one on show. I'm afraid it's yet another case of marketing departments having no idea of the marketplace they serve.

[FourWheelDrift]

Those white and pastel coloured 500s have taken over as the worst driven cars on the road.

[seefarr]

dunnoreally said:

Hardly surprising. The mild hybrids are very mild indeed if I recall correctly, so this is hardly the turning point Fiat marketing says it is.

Joey Deacon said:

Mild hybrid = Shoe box sized battery and a starter motor sized motor on the gearbox.

We had a Lancia Ypsilon hybrid (same as a Panda / 500) as a hire car last week. It has a 5hp electric motor drawing from a 0.13 kWh lithium battery to top up it's titanic 69hp 3 cylinder. By god it was slow and the charge dial seemed to flap around randomly with no relationship to forward progress at all. To be fair it did seem to use essentially no fuel in the week despite driving it with the throttle welded to the bulkhead everywhere but my current baseline is a 4.2L V8 so maybe I'm not the best to judge....

[centralscot]

steveb8189 said:

oh don't be so dramatic. Mild hybrid adds pretty much no weight and the prices are actually less than the 1.2 petrol. Think you're just getting confused about the market-wide price inflation

That price list is 2 years old.

[James42]

FourWheelDrift said:

Those white and pastel coloured 500s have taken over as the worst driven cars on the road.

Always thought this title belongs to the Renault captur lol

[anonymous-user]

centralscot said:

That price list is 2 years old.

If you don't want Red it is another 550

Bet they can't build these Tipos quick enough......

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 30th May 13:33

[boozyjay]

Thank the Lord I got my order in for a new Panda Cross 4x4 TwinAir a couple of months back. It arrives in September (hopefully) Looks like it will be one of the last ones as Fiat have taken it off the configurator.

[V12GT]

steveb8189 said:

oh don't be so dramatic. Mild hybrid adds pretty much no weight and the prices are actually less than the 1.2 petrol. Think you're just getting confused about the market-wide price inflation

These are for the outgoing 500 models, to go off sale at the end of the year, I believe and hybrid only until then.

I was looking at the full electric prices £31-34k for a 500C. We paid £12k for ours new in 2015. New one is also much heavier.

So I think my comments remain valid, don’t they?

[Jon_S_Rally]

I assume this won't stop the Abarth? No hybrid option and still quite popular, so would be mad to stop it, surely?

They won't be the first anyway. We'll see a lot more of this in the next couple of years no doubt.

[Steamer]

Jon_S_Rally said:

I assume this won't stop the Abarth? No hybrid option and still quite popular, so would be mad to stop it, surely?

They won't be the first anyway. We'll see a lot more of this in the next couple of years no doubt.

That was the bit I was looking for clarity on..

Real shame if they are killing off the 1.4 Abarth for the sake of 'all electric Fiat'

ETA: I have read elsewhere - petrol Abarth will continue until 2024

Edited by Steamer on Monday 30th May 14:10

[Schermerhorn]

Just what the world needs

Cheap Italian electric cars

[steveb8189]

V12GT said:

These are for the outgoing 500 models, to go off sale at the end of the year, I believe and hybrid only until then.

I was looking at the full electric prices £31-34k for a 500C. We paid £12k for ours new in 2015. New one is also much heavier.

So I think my comments remain valid, don’t they?

You said hybrid in your original post so that is what I was gojg off rather than full electric which you are now saying.

I doubt anyone is paying full price for the electric models as a large proportion are leased through salary sacrifice with 1% BIK saving somewhere between 20 and 50%

[HorneyMX5]

Mrs has just ordered an Orange Dolcevita Plus 500c as mini canceled her order for a Cooper through her company car scheme.

They Hybridness of it is a bit of joke, it’s about the same as iLoop on my Mx5 and they don’t bang on about that being a hybrid.

Are they really pulling the plug on the older 500 at the end of this year? They still sell in great numbers.