The Fiat 500e, the Italian brand’s electric city car, made its debut in the United States in early 2024. Initially, it was received with enthusiasm, but it seems to have faded quickly judging by sales. So far, the city car has sold only 439 units in the United States. A result that is nothing short of unsatisfactory. However, this is normal when the price is inflated and the range offers about 200 km with the entry-level version. Despite this, Stellantis is ready to invest another $110 million in developing a new 500e with greater range.
Fiat 500e: Stellantis invests $110 million despite sales flop
When Fiat returned to the United States about 15 years ago with its 500, the city car sold almost 100,000 units in a few years. The reason? Classic Italian style, a variety of colors, and a very attractive price. The secret recipe for achieving sales, but it seems that Stellantis now uses a different one.
We can say that the Fiat 500e hasn’t been very successful in the United States, despite the brand’s attempts to promote it in this market. Recently, in fact, Fiat launched an advertisement comparing it to the Tesla Cybertruck, the electric pickup truck from the automaker led by Elon Musk.
This market failure has caused production to stop at the Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy. The stoppage began in September and was supposed to last only four weeks, but subsequently, Stellantis extended the stop until November 1st. The $110 million investment thus aims to improve the negative aspects of this electric city car. First, Fiat will invest this money in a new battery, which will therefore increase the vehicle’s range.
Moreover, the Italian automaker will launch the new hybrid 500 by the end of 2025, which will be based on the electric version. This is a very attractive alternative for buyers interested in this vehicle but discouraged by the limited range of the electric version. In this way, the automaker could aim to surpass the nearly 100,000 units sold of previous versions, if combined with an affordable price and cutting-edge features. In the third quarter of 2024, Fiat sold only 786 cars in the United States, including the 500e and 500X. Doing worse than this in the future seems impossible.