New Fiat 500 Becomes Smarter With Amazon’s Alexa Personal Assistant

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has brought the Alexa experience to the new Fiat 500, as part of the company’s strategic partnership with Amazon.

With the Alexa Built-in, owners of the electric supermini will be able to ask the virtual assistant to play music, check the battery level, lock and unlock the doors, hear the news and even control smart home devices.

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“The New 500 is simple and intuitive with, cherry on the cake, the on-board ‘virtual’ assistant to respond to in-car commands,” said Ned Curic, VP of Alexa Automotive at Amazon. “Simply saying ‘Hey Fiat’, it is able to communicate in real-time with home automation systems, listen to the music and much more, in the end, staying connected and driving safely.”

Part of FCA’s Uconnect Services, the integration of the personal assistant will first launch in Fiat’s home market of Italy, with other countries to follow throughout next year, including Austria, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Sporting an evolutionary design, the new 500 has become all-electric. In the base variant, a 24 kWh battery powers the 93 HP (94 PS / 70 kW) electric motor, with the 0 to 62 mph (0-100 km/h) acceleration taking 9.5 seconds. This model can hit a top speed of 84 mph (135 km/h) and it has a 115-mile (185-km) range on the WLTP cycle.

A more powerful version of the car uses a 118 HP (120 PS / 87 kW) motor and a bigger 42 kWh battery, slashing five-tenths of a second from the acceleration time and increasing the maximum speed to 93 mph (150 km/h). The zero-emission range is rated at 186-199 miles (299-320 km) on a single charge.