Fiat was once one of the most popular brands on the European market, and its models regularly topped the European Car of the Year polls. In the last few years, however, the Italians, except for the smallest 500 and Panda models, have not been doing so well, which could change in the coming years. Fiat is waiting for a big rebirth.
Do you remember when Fiat last introduced a brand new passenger car in Europe? Of course, the year before, a new electric five-seater was shown, which is so far quite successful in addition to the combustion from 2007. For the next new car, however, it is necessary to go much deeper into the past. In 2016, the European specifications of the Tipo and 124 Spider models were introduced, of which the latter no longer even appears in the offer. Since then, except for the city’s electric car, nothing but facelifts of long-selling cars like the Panda or 500X.
The lack of funds contributed to this, which changed with the formation of the Stellantis group, formed by the former PSA and Fiat Chrysler groups. Above all, this has opened the way for Italian carmakers to have modern platforms for small cars that can also be powered by an electric motor. After all, it is already clear that Fiat will offer exclusively electric cars in Europe by 2027 at the latest.
And even Fiat boss Olivier Francois is not short on the issue of electrifying the brand. “Fiat should be the popular Tesla: an electric car for everyone,” he said British magazine Autocar. “It is clear that we need to reduce the price of electrification. But in 2027, maybe even earlier, we will be ready. It will depend on the price, but I would like us to be the first mainstream carmaker to be fully electric,” he added. Every new Fiat car should have a fully electric version.
The first swallow of the new wave will be a small car next year, while in this class the Italians have been successfully offering Punto for a quarter of a century. However, the last car of this name was created in 2018 and Francois claims that the novelty will not bear the famous name. In any case, it also wants to compete with models from one stable, ie Opel Corsa or Peugeot 208. It is probable that the novelty will use their CMP platform (later all small cars in the group will switch to STLA Small), so the “new Punto” will also have an electric variant. In addition, Autocar also expects the arrival of a hybrid powertrain. Let us remind you that the electric variants of the small cars of the Stellantis group have an electric motor with an output of 100 kW, a 50 kWh battery and a range of over 350 km on a single charge.
Altogether, Fiat wants to offer ten key models in the coming years: five global passenger cars, four light commercial models (Scudo and passenger E-Ulysse are current in this class) and an exclusively Latin American small Strada model. The range of five global passenger cars will consist of Punta’s successor, the 500 family and three new crossovers. The design of models not yet introduced is to be significantly influenced by the three-year-old Centoventi concept. “Over the next five years, we will introduce one new car a year for each region and produce models that will be common around the world. We have struggled with this in the past,” Francois promises.
But ambitious plans have clear boundaries – Fiat will not offer cars larger than compact, that is, with a length of about 4.5 meters. In the division of roles in the Stellantis group, it is actually logical, because the Italian sibling is Citroën and, as Francois explains, it is more successful in the larger car class, that is, in the middle class. Fiat, on the other hand, specializes in the smallest cars that Citroën does not offer after the end of the Cologne C1 model. The two brands will then partially overlap between these categories.
The smallest Fiats have long been associated with the names 500 and Panda, and unlike Punta, the carmaker will not get rid of them in the future. In addition to the city hatchback and semi-convertible, the 500 family should continue to include the larger 500X SUV and probably another model, which, according to the brand’s boss, will be “urban and modern”. It has long been speculated that a station wagon with the traditional name Giardiniera will return to the menu.
The new Panda, probably transformed into a crossover, should be significantly inspired by the already mentioned Centoventi concept, which for a change referred to the completely original angular model of the famous name from the 80’s. Olivier Francois promises a minimalist approach: “less is more,” he says. In addition to Panda, this connection is to inspire at least one larger crossover. On the contrary, the head of the brand for Autocar did not talk about the compact Tipo line, so it is possible that it will end after the current generation.
As much as it might seem that after the creation of the Stellantis group, Fiat is just a recipient in terms of technology, the British magazine also points out that it could contribute something. Specifically, it is a platform for city electric cars, which is the basis of the Fiat 500e. The Italians developed this themselves and it is currently used in only one model. Brands, not only Stellantis, are abandoning the category of the smallest cars, because the production of combustion versions does not pay off in terms of emissions and fully electric ones in turn financially. One of the few brands that has recently introduced a purely combustion model for the smallest car category is Toyota, which, however, can afford the Aygo X thanks to its low fleet emissions. Now a new “shopping bag” could be shown by Citroën or Peugeot. By the way, the electric 500 will see a sharp version with the Abarth brand next year.
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