Oh, here we go again. Stellantis has no other option but to pause production of the Fiat 500e. Demand for the electric city car continues to be poor, forcing another hiatus at the Mirafiori plant. The Italian factory suspended output several times this year and it's about to do it once more. After telling unions that operations would be suspended from December 18 until January 5, it’s now adding the December 2-17 interval to the stoppage.
Consequently, the Fiat 500e will not be assembled from Monday, December 2, until Sunday, January 5, 2025. It’s not just the diminutive hatchback impacted by the low demand as Maserati is facing an identical problem. Production of the GranTurismo and GrabCabrio will also be halted during this interval. Through the voice of Stellantis’ head honcho Carlos Tavares, the exotic brand recently blamed bad marketing for sluggish sales.
Fiat’s parent company says activities at its factory in Turin will be temporarily stopped due to a "continuing uncertainty in sales of electric cars in several European markets.” EVs account for 97% of the production at the Mirafiori facility. Stellantis goes on to say it’s putting the brakes on Maserati production as well due to low demand for luxury cars outside Europe, such as the United States and China.
The wheels are in motion to resuscitate sales of the new Fiat 500 by selling a version with a combustion engine. The plan is to roll out a hybrid 500 in 2026 when production will commence at the same Italian site. Made in Poland, the previous-generation model is still sold in certain regions with gas power. Yes, we’re talking about a car that originally hit the market in 2007. Its Abarth hot hatch counterpart is still available, but Fiat’s performance division has already announced plans to go purely electric.
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