Fiat will introduce a hybrid drivetrain into the 500 city car before the end of 2025 – and for head of Europe Gaetano Thorel it can’t come a moment too soon.
The electric Fiat 500, introduced in 2020, is a sweet car. But sales have been limited because it’s fishing in a small market segment, made even smaller by its strictly zero emissions powertrain.
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“The new 500 is one of the best cars Fiat has ever had from a design and technology standpoint,” Thorel told Auto Express exclusively in Turin. “The fact that we have limited the possibility for the majority of consumers to enjoy the new 500 really makes me very sad. So when the engineers found a way to put the engine inside, giving us the go [ahead] for the new 500 hybrid, it was one of the best days of my life.”
Fiat’s engineering team has revamped the electric architecture to shoehorn the powertrain of the previous 500 hybrid – now off UK sale – into the nose. “It was an engineering challenge,” admits Thorel. Removing the battery has not freed up any additional cockpit or trunk space, Thorel asserts, with the main interior difference being the installation of a manual stickshift.
