Fiat-Chrysler FCA Fiat 500
09/02/2019
M sometimes management decisions only make sense at second glance . This is one of them: As several US media report unanimously, the Fiat 500 hits the last hour on the local market. For the small car and its direct offshoots - the convertible and the Abarth versions - the current one is also the final model year; only the existing stocks are sold. The Fiat portfolio in the USA now only consists of the models 500L, 500X and 124 Spider.
Electric version already in the starting blocks
The decision of the parent company FCA comes as a surprise. At least if you just look at the sales figures. Because with the standard 500, Fiat is also discontinuing its best-selling model in the USA, while the 500L, which is still on offer, brings up the rear for the brand: in June, just 399 car buyers in the United States wanted the minivan. The 500X and the 124 Spider also have to struggle with a large drop in sales compared to the previous year.
But the decision against the current Fiat 500 seems to be a strategic vote for its successor: at the next Geneva Motor Show in March 2020 The all-electric Fiat 500 will make its debut. It will exist in Europe for a while alongside the conventionally powered one, but will completely replace it in the USA. Fiat is currently investing heavily to convert its plants to the production of electric cars. In particular, the Mirafiori plant in Turin, which is currently underutilized, will be upgraded in this regard; the Fiat 500 Electric will roll off the production line there in the future.
