We’ve heard recently how Bentley and Aston Martin are both delaying the introduction of EVs due to a slowdown in the electric market. But for the same reasons Fiat is now making major changes to an EV it already has in production: the retro-look 500e is getting a retro ICE conversion.
The electric 500e landed in the U.S. this spring but has been on sale in Europe since 2020, where it’s been offered alongside the older and much less expensive combustion 500, which is built around an entirely different platform. But that elderly ICE 500 goes off sale this year in Europe, because from July it will no longer be homologated for the region’s roads, though it will live on in Africa, Auto News reports.
Fiat has chosen not to spend the money needed to make the old 500 meet Europe’s latest safety and cybersecurity rules, opting instead to put that cash into bringing the Panda – now renamed Pandina to make way for the upcoming Panda EV – up to scratch instead. But sales of the electric 500e haven’t grown as expected and the entire EV market is experiencing a slowdown. Auto News quotes Data Force figures revealing that Fiat sold over 104,000 ICE-powered 500s in Europe last year, but only 62,000 of the newer electric version.
Related: Fiat Panda To Remain In Production Until 2027 As The “Pandina”
Now Fiat plans to retrofit an ICE engine into the EV, as first covered by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera and later confirmed to Auto News by suppliers, meaning the hybrid-adapted 500e will be built in Fiat’s Mirafiori plant in Turin alongside its fully electric brother. Production of the current combustion 500 will move from Poland to Algeria, a more sensible location for its new life in Africa.
But converting an EV that was never designed to have an ICE engine into a hybrid isn’t only very strange, it’s also a time-consuming process. Making the 1.0-liter, 69 hp (70 PS) three-cylinder FireFly mild-hybrid motor work in its new home will take some time, and then getting the car homologated is another lengthy process, so the mild hybrid variant of the 500e won’t be ready for sale until late 2025 or early 2026, according to the same report. This means Fiat’s best-selling model in Europe will die this summer, leaving dealers without a replacement for over 18 months. This sounds terrible, as Fiat hasn’t got the widest model range available in the European market.