The new hybrid Fiat 500 will be named “Torino” and will be available in “about 18 months,” as stated by the CEO of the Italian brand, Olivier Francois, during the official presentation of the Grande Panda. The new hybrid city car will therefore return to the market between the end of 2025 and the first months of 2026 and should be built on the basis of the 500e.
Fiat 500 Torino: the hybrid version will return to the market due to poor sales of the electric city car
Initially, with the end of production of the old hybrid Fiat 500, a new generation was not planned, so much so that the car manufacturer had decided to go ahead only with the electric version. However, sales of the electric city car continue to disappoint, in Europe as well as in the United States, where it has made its debut in recent months. The company therefore finds itself “forced” to bring a new version of the hybrid model to the market, this time with the ADAS systems mandatory in Europe from July 7, to avoid losing an important market share and to satisfy electric skeptics.
Olivier Francois told Autocar: “For me, the Fiat 500 is electric and it’s the perfect car. That said, we thought electric cars would spread faster and that the cost of electrification would fall. We couldn’t imagine the pandemic period, which caused a shortage of raw materials. We wouldn’t have even thought that European society, not the younger part, would turn its back on sustainable solutions. But this is the reality and we have to face it. The transition is very slow in many markets, especially in Italy, which is why we decided to update the hybrid.”
Francois then explained that, at this point, they must satisfy customer demands, even those most skeptical about electric: “We have to meet every expectation. For this reason, we had to react by updating the previous generation hybrid, which obviously was becoming old, and did not comply with new European regulations.”
The Fiat CEO finally added: “I still believe that the future of urban mobility is electric. However, there will be no more thermal versions after this model and everyone will switch to electric.” Therefore, the new Fiat 500 Torino will be the last with a combustion engine, after which only electric vehicles will arrive.