The Fiat 500e electric may receive a gasoline engine!

The logic suggests electrifying a thermal model to turn it into a hybrid. But at Fiat, they like to shake up established rules!

Although Fiat has made its 500e electric a best-seller, demand for models with internal combustion engines, hybrid or not, remains strong. The Fiat 500 electric could thus be equipped with a gasoline engine to replace the aging combustion engine 500, which is set to bow out in Europe this year.

While the technological shift has not yet been confirmed by the Italian manufacturer, the information comes from our very reliable and well-informed colleagues at Il Corriere della Sera. Until now, Fiat 500 combustion models were produced in Poland, and electric ones in Italy. This has inevitably caused some tensions among Italian unions, worried about declining demand and slowing sales, which have led to the layoff of 2,250 employees, more than half of whom worked on the 500e. Adding a gasoline engine model at the Mirafiori plant could soothe these unions and help the company meet Italy’s goal of maintaining automobile production in the country at over one million cars per year. An aim very largely supported by the Stellantis group alone!

Fiat does it all

However, don’t rush to pre-order a new generation 500 hybrid on the manufacturer’s website. It will take almost 2 years to adapt the electric platform to accommodate a thermal engine and to develop the entire system to ensure reliability. And anyway, it’s necessary to clear out the still-production thermal models! The timing works well for Fiat, as they will have both an electric and a hybrid version for Europe, and the thermal model can peacefully finish its career in the Middle East and Africa, where it is much better received than on the old continent.

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