New Fiat Koala: quirky small EV on the way to sit below the Panda

Fiat is set to gain another car with a bear-themed name. The Panda has been knocking around in one form or another since 1980, and more recently, the Fiat Grizzly was revealed as a Dacia Bigster rival due to launch next year. Now, not long after, we should have the Fiat Koala, and our exclusive image previews how it could look.

Speaking at the Paris Motor Show, Fiat, Abarth and Lancia boss Arnaud Belloni confirmed that the Fiat brand had registered the Koala name. And yes, we’re aware that the koala is actually a marsupial, and not a bear, despite its nickname…

In any case, Belloni, who was appointed in September, seemed to suggest the name isn’t taken too seriously. At the show, he facetiously brought up other names both in and out of the car world, including Apple (“what a silly name”) and Renault’s Arkana (“what does it mean?”).

“The names, they are important, but they are not so important. They are what the car is, [what] the car becomes,” he added.

Belloni’s comments about the brand then having “a Koala, a Panda, and a Grizzly” suggest the newcomer would be the smallest of the lot, which would make sense given a koala’s size in relation to a panda and a grizzly bear.

Panda, of course, does also refer to more than one model, encompassing the Grande Panda and the Pandina (meaning little Panda), a continuation of the previous-shape Panda, sold primarily in Italy. A new car will soon be replacing the Pandina, likely based on the same platform used by the new Citroen 2CV, which also seems a likely starting point for the Koala.

That architecture will be built to the incoming European ‘E-Car’ regulations, aimed at creating a new generation of small, light and affordable electric cars that have a maximum length of 4.2 metres. The Citroen 2CV is well within that permitted limit, at 3.76 metres. The new Panda will likely be a similar size, with the Koala coming in a little smaller, potentially even less than the 3.6-metre Fiat 500.

Citroen has previously confirmed that it’s aiming for the 2CV to come in at under 1,000kg, a figure that should be matched by the Koala. This is exceptionally low for an electric car, regardless of size, and will benefit cost, efficiency and handling.

While specifics such as battery size and performance are still unknown, in the interest of scale and reducing the development costs, expect a limited number of variants to be available. This will be the result of yet more parts sharing between different Stellantis brands to create this new type of affordable electric car.

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