The decline in Fiat sales, mainly due to the Fiat 500e and the discontinuation of the Hybrid version, is putting the brand in serious difficulty. For this reason, Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, has announced that he has brought forward the release of the new 500 Ibrida (hybrid) by one year, now scheduled for the end of 2025. With the 500e production lines idle at the Mirafiori plant in Italy, the facility needs new models to recover.
New Fiat 500 Ibrida will arrive a year earlier than expected
Carlos Tavares stated that the Fiat 500 Ibrida will reach a production of about 100,000 units per year. This is decidedly positive news for the Stellantis Mirafiori plant, which in the last year has seen production drop by 83% and experienced months of stoppage and layoffs.
However, everything will depend on demand. Nevertheless, this is a model highly appreciated by motorists, and with the update and an accessible price, reaching the production declared by Tavares is not at all impossible. The price of the new 500 Ibrida should be around 18,000 euros (19,500 USD), slightly higher than the previous version.
Carlos Tavares, during the Paris Motor Show, declared: “We will produce between 80,000 and 100,000 units per year of the 500 Ibrida. For the fastest possible recovery of the plant, we have decided to bring forward production by one year, from 2026 to November 2025.” Under the hood will be the same light hybrid engine as the Panda, namely the classic 1.0-liter petrol engine. The power will be 70 HP, while the transmission will remain manual to keep production costs down.
Olivier Francois, CEO of Fiat, said that the new 500 Ibrida, which will be very similar to the electric version of the city car, would have a slightly higher cost than the previous model. Therefore, a price of around 18,000 euros is expected. If this is the case, the brand could start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.