Stellantis Corporation is preparing a small sensation: for the first time, a model originally developed as an electric car will be converted to install an internal combustion engine — previously such conversions Only a few tuning studios and garage craftsmen had fun.
The new electric Fiat 500e debuted in 2020 not as a replacement, but as an environmentally friendly alternative to the current gasoline “500e,” which has been produced since 2007. Versions of the petrol Fiat 500 for Europe are produced in the Polish city of Tychy. Stellantis Corporation would love to continue to drive this popular model further, but in July new cybersecurity rules for cars come into force in the European Union, and the old Fiat 500 does not comply with them.
It is curious that Fiat has adapted to the new EU cybersecurity rules an old hatchback Panda of the third generation, which has been produced since 2011 in Pomigliano, Italy, but this decision was made much in advance.
Asymmetrical four-door hatchback Fiat 500e 3+1
Stellantis strategists were a little mistaken with the “500th”: they expected that the new electric Fiat 500e would be a hit and would sell at least 100,000 units in Europe alone. in year. In fact, after a rather vigorous start, the demand for the Fiat 500e began to sag: in 2023, according to the analytical agency JATO Dynamics, 64,244 copies of this model were sold in Europe, which is 3% less than the result of 2022.
The forecast for this year is negative, as the trend towards a global slowdown in demand for electric vehicles, clearly visible in 2023, shows no sign of abating.
Fiat 500e
The Fiat 500e is produced at the Mirafiori plant in Turin (Italy), which recently had to be idle due to low demand for the Fiat 500e. The union and the Italian government are concerned about the low utilization of this plant, so Stellantis is thinking about how to fix it.
Today, the business publication Automotive News Europe, citing Stellantis suppliers, reported that the corporation is seriously considering the possibility of organizing the production of a gasoline conversion Fiat 500e at the Mirafiori plant in order to simultaneously solve two problems — the low utilization of the enterprise and the departure of the old Fiat 500 from the European market.
Fiat 500e Cabrio convertible and regular Fiat 500e hatchback
The plan is excellent, but it will not be possible to implement it quickly: it will take at least a year and a half to convert the Fiat 500e to install a gasoline engine, that is, the start of production of the gasoline version can be expected only at the end of 2025 — beginning of 2026. But this is better than doing nothing, and the experience of converting an electric model into a hydrocarbon one may be useful in the future. The main candidate for registration under the hood of the Fiat 500e is a simple and cheap 1.0-liter 3-cylinder Firefly gasoline engine (70 hp) paired with a mild-hybrid add-on in the form of a starter-generator assisting during acceleration.
The old petrol Fiat 500, which will soon leave the European market
Meanwhile, the old Fiat 500 is not going to retire: it will be released next summer will be sent from Poland to Algeria to a brand new plant in Tafraoui-Oran, launched at the end of last year, with a capacity of 90,000 cars per year, from here it will be supplied to developing markets — mainly countries in Africa and the Middle East.
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