New Fiat lightweight EV being readied ahead of regulatory approval

Fiat is eyeing up a new, lightweight, low-cost EV designed to offer more flexibility than the Topolino quadricycle, but greater urban focus than the 500 and Grande Panda superminis. The plans, which appear to already be in motion, will attempt to second-guess EU regulators who are expected to incentivise the pre-defined ‘L7’ class of small car within the next few months.

As outlined by the European Commission, L7-approved models are vehicles “whose unladen mass is not more than 400kg, not including the mass of batteries in the case of electric vehicles and whose maximum continuous rated power does not exceed 15kW (20.1bhp)”.

Such a car would therefore sit above quadricycles like Fiat’s own Topolino, plus the Citroen Ami – offering more power, a higher top speed and more usable range thanks to a bigger battery. The limitations placed on this class of car, however, would see it undercut models such as the Dacia Spring and Leapmotor T03 – both of which are currently available on Auto Express’s Buy a Car platform from under £16,000 – with a battery only big enough for around 70 miles of range.

The news that Fiat is considering a small, lightweight EV, comes just a couple of months after then-boss of Stellantis Europe, Jean-Philippe Imparato, called for the EU to rewrite the targets for electric-vehicle adoption. Speaking to Auto Express at the Munich Motor Show in September, Imparato suggested car makers could “revamp and revolutionise the A-segment in Europe” with a selection of 15,000-euro city cars built and engineered locally.

“We need less discussions and more actions,” Imparato declared at the time. “The bottom line is that 2030 and 2035 targets in CO2 trajectory are not achievable. The market is not there, economical customers are not there, the charging infrastructure is not there, and the pricing is not there.”

Revisiting the subject this week, Gaetano Thorel, Head of Fiat and Abarth in Europe, likened the opportunity to the success of Kei cars in Japan. “The car is limited in size, limited in weight, limited in space. It’s a clear choice. And now, one third of the [Japanese domestic car] industry is Kei car. It would be easy to take inspiration; for [Fiat], it is our territory”.

Thorel is “confident” EU regulators will make an announcement soon. “There are a couple of good signs,” he told us. “First of all, the European Commission realises the automotive industry in Europe is in danger. Now [the European Commission needs] to decide how to support the automotive industry without, let me say, losing face. We are confident they will do something; there is a meeting on 10 December”.

Fiat is on a roll at the moment, pushing the latest 500 Hybrid through from concept to production reality in just 20 months. The new small EV would require more extensive development, but the brand’s head of product, Guillame Clerc, said his team “can do it in two or three years” – with the aim of beating Chinese rivals to market.

Thorel concluded: “Don’t forget that Fiat is the master of urban cars. Look at the A-segment in Europe – Fiat is number one, with distance”.

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