Fiat’s Next-Generation 500 To Be An All-Electric “Urban Tesla”

The next-generation Fiat 500 will only be sold with an all-electric powertrain, the Italian company has confirmed.

Fiat has been building the current 500 since 2005, and while it remains a popular seller, it is basically an old car. Consequently, it will be redesigned from the ground up and sold exclusively with an electric motor and a battery pack.

“A new 500, totally renewed. A new object. Totally electric. It’s kind of an urban Tesla, with beautiful style. Italianess, dolce vita in an electric car. It’s the polar opposite of Centoventi,” Fiat and FCA chief marketing officer Olivier Francois told Auto Express at the Geneva Motor Show.

Fiat unveiled the head-turning Centoventi concept at the Swiss show but hasn’t said if the all-electric 500 will share any components with the production version of the study that is said to preview the next Panda. What we do know for sure is that the next-gen 500 will use a new electric architecture currently being developed by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

“It’s a new platform designed for electrification. It makes the car radically different. It’s still a 500, same size, same proportions, but it’s just not the same car. The 500 of the future,” Francois said.

Unsurprisingly, the all-new 500 will cost a little more than the outgoing model. However, the latter will not be axed, but will remain in production and be sold alongside the new EV for an undefined period of time. This is similar to what Porsche will do with the current Macan and its all-electric replacement, since not all markets being ready for the switch to electrification.