Yahoo Autos Fiat Pauses Electric 500e Hatchback Production Due to Slow Sales
Stellantis is pausing production of the Fiat 500e, Automotive News Europe reported.
The stoppage comes after slowing demand in the European market.
Fiat has sold just 204 units of the 500e in the United States so far in 2024.
Fiat finally introduced the electric 500e hatchback, which had already been on sale in Europe since 2020, to the U.S. market earlier this year. The diminutive Fiat wasn't expected to be a huge seller in America—where the most popular vehicle is the full-size Ford F-150 truck—and it wasn't: Fiat sold just 204 examples stateside so far this year.
Now a slowdown of sales in Europe has parent company Stellantis to suspend production at the Mirafiori factory in Turin, Italy for four weeks, as reported by Automotive News Europe.
According to the publication, the pause in production will begin on September 13 and is happening as a result of a lack of orders in the Europe market. Car and Driver has reached out to Fiat for comment and will update this story when we receive a response. This isn't the first time that Stellantis has stopped production of the 500e this year, pausing assembly of the hatchback from mid-February until early March before another stoppage from late April until early August. Assembly of the electric Fiat was also suspended in late 2023.
Hybrid Version in the Works
In response to slowing sales of the electric city car, Stellantis is preparing a hybrid version that will arrive, at least in Europe, between 2025 and 2026. The automaker is investing some $110 million into the Mirafiori factory in Turin, Italy, to be able to implement a higher-performance battery. The current Fiat 500e is powered by a 117-hp electric motor that is hooked up to the front wheels. The motor is fed by a battery with roughly 37.0 kWh of capacity, providing an EPA-estimated 141 miles of range. In Car and Driver's 75-mph highway range test, the 500e traveled just 120 miles.
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