FCA Putting $788 Million Behind New 500 EV, Small Battery Platform
Fiat Chrysler will invest $788 million to build a production line for the new 500 electric, according to the company’s European CFO Pietro Gorlier. An extension of automaker’s plan to to dump 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) into Italy, the deal makes good on earlier promises that the automaker would establish a dedicated small battery-electric vehicle platform.
FCA’s larger investment is to span through 2021 and would see the Fiat 500 battery electric produced at the Mirafiori plant in Turin while Melfi handled the new Jeep Compass and Renegade PHEVs. The hybrid systems are supposed to employ a turbocharged 1.3-liter gasoline engine with a a total output of 240 horsepower. Jeep has previously claimed that both would manage 31 miles of all-electric driving and a 0-to-60 time under seven seconds.
Automotive News reported that FCA has already installed the first production robot for the future 500 electric vehicle assembly line at Mirafiori. The facility is expected to build 80,000 units a year with production starting in the second quarter of 2020, with Gorlier suggesting capacity could be expanded if need be. It’s anticipated to be a colossal improvement over the current 500e — boasting a highly competitive range, fun dynamics, more luxury and a higher price tag. Meanwhile, the non-electric 500 is supposed to continue knocking around for an indeterminate amount of time on the existing platform.
It’s unclear how closely the new 500 EV it will mimic the Panda-inspired Centoventi electric we saw previewed in Geneva this year — if it bothers to at all. But the presiding assumption is that it would adopt the concept vehicle’s planned customizability and some futuristic styling elements while attempting to remain faithful to the 500’s historic image. A few FCA staffers have already confessed that the two won’t resemble each other in the slightest, however.
[Images: FCA]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Wasn't this the car that Sergio begged everyone 5 years ago not to buy? I bet he's rolling around in his grave.
Seems like a new platform for the ICE Fiat 500 would be much higher on the list for development dollars. A bit of a head scratcher considering Fiat doesnt have have much in the way of all new platforms on the ground.