New Fiat Koala on the way to sit under the Panda
New Fiat boss Arnaud Belloni has confirmed the ‘Koala’ name has been registered by the brand
The Fiat range 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 much more recently, the Fiat Grizzly was revealed as a Dacia Bigster rival due to launch in 2027. Not long after, we should have the Fiat Koala.
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, before any of you point it out, we know the ‘koala bear’ 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 several 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 Koala 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 car, encompassing the Grande Panda, and the Pandina (meaning ‘little Panda’), a continuation of the old 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, with 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 500.
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