Fiat will no longer produce cars that are painted grey – despite it being the UK’s most popular car colour – as it looks to further develop its reputation as a "brand of joy, colours and optimism".
Starting with the 600, which will go on sale later this year as the Italian firm's answer to the Jeep Avenger, Fiat will begin relating its shades to those of Italy - namely the country's sea, sun, earth and sky.
The latest in a series of developments for Fiat in 2023, the strategy is designed to add a distinctive flavour to Fiat's cars in their respective markets and give the firm a competitive edge.
Grey has long been the most popular colour for UK customers when speccing their cars. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, it represented more than one in four new cars sold in the UK last year.
Fiat CEO Olivier Francois said: "We broke the rules: we decided to stop the production of Fiat grey cars. This is challenging and disruptive and it is aimed at further reinforcing Fiat’s leadership as the brand of joy, colours and optimism. This choice further communicates to people the new 'dolce vita' values and the Italian DNA embodied by the brand."
The colour’s axing is accompanied by a new tagline: "Italy. The land of colours. Fiat. The brand of colours."
Fiat currently offers five models in its range, the 500, electric 500, 500X, Panda and Tipo - all of which are now available in white, orange, red, blue, green, gold and black. The firm has given each colour a name to reflect Italian landscapes.
This comes after a series of changes Fiat has made to the rest of its line-up ahead of going all-electric by 2030. The firm will continue making small cars and plans to launch five new models in the next five years to join the existing electric Fiat 500.
In addition, it is working on a range of models on new platforms inspired by the 2019 Centoventi electric concept, which could revive the Panda nameplate.
