Yahoo Autos Electric Fiat 500 could be given petrol engine
Of the 173,187 Fiat and Abarth 500s sold in Europe last year, only 64,244 were electric
The electric Fiat 500 could be retrofitted with a petrol engine to replace the ageing combustion-powered 500, which faces being pulled from sale in Europe later this year due to new cybersecurity laws, according to reports.
Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera first reported that Fiat sent a letter to its suppliers asking if they could fulfil an increase in production levels at its plant in Mirafiori, Italy, to 175,000 cars per year.
Trade publication Automotive News Europe (ANE) cited suppliers that claim this increase of almost 100,000 cars (compared with the 77,260 built at Mirafiori in 2023) would almost entirely comprise petrol-engined 500s.
The unprecedented prospect of retrofitting an electric car with a combustion engine reportedly comes because of forthcoming new cybersecurity requirements in the EU.
Their introduction would prevent the existing petrol-engined 500 – which has been built in Tychy, Poland, since its 2007 launch – from remaining on sale without being rehomologated at substantial cost.
