Production of the Fiat 500e will remain stalled through the rest of October due to lack of demand. While the Mirafiori factory in Turin, Italy, was told to suspend work for a few weeks in September, Stellantis has decided to extend things into November.
Despite being indisputably cute, the model hasn’t had the greatest run. The previous-generation 500C was praised as being a fashionable and nimble city car with an Abarth variant that offered enough pep to make it genuinely fun to drive. However, the all-electric 500e was notorious for its lackluster range and being a money loser for the brand. Former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne even publicly asked people not to buy the model, stating that it only existed to comply with government emission regulations — which he decried until his death in 2018.
While the current Fiat 500e has solved many of the shortcomings of its predecessor, sales have been abysmal since the brand dumped its combustion counterpart. In 2020, only 674 units were sold inside the United States. Volumes haven’t improved since Stellantis took over ownership of the Fiat brand. Even with U.S. and Canadian volumes combined, the last several years have had difficulty surpassing 500 deliveries. Some years didn’t even see Fiat selling 100 examples of the 500e.
However, North American sales weren’t cited as the reason Stellantis told the factory to stop production — not that they helped things.
“The measure is necessary due to the current lack of orders linked to the deep difficulties experienced in the European electric [vehicle] market by all producers, particularly the European ones,” the automaker said last month.
Like us, Europe has also seen consumers shifting away from all-electric vehicles. Early adopters have already adopted and prices for EVs remain comparatively high. That said, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has been reaching out to European governments. The talks allegedly revolve around the automaker seeking support for electrified models to ensure its EV-related investments (particularly in Italy) come to fruition.
Considering that this is the only vehicle sold on our market under the Fiat marquee, the band looks doomed here. Sales have been terrible for years now and Stellantis seems more interested in attempting to revive long-absent French brands than maintaining the nameplates it purchased off FCA.
However, the above has resulted in the relevant dealers offering some of the juiciest discounts we’ve seen in ages. It’s not uncommon to see the Fiat 500e listed $10,000 below MSRP. The only other vehicle your author could say that about is the Dodge Hornet, which is arguably the better buy if you’re not interested in an all-electric vehicle or in need of an exceptionally small automobile. Odds are good you can find them on the same lot.
[Images: Stellantis]
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