Fiat unveils electric 500 in Milan despite virus fears

MILAN -- Fiat's new 500 full-electric car will join the growing number of battery-powered minicars targeting customers in Europe's cities seeking emissions-free mobility. 

The three-door model, called the New 500, retains the retro styling of the current internal combustion engine 500, which was Europe's second best-selling minicar last year after Fiat's Panda.  

Fiat defied fears over Italy's coronavirus outbreak to showcase the New 500 on Wednesday, as it strives to catch up with rivals in low-emissions driving while heading into a merger with Peugeot maker PSA Group.

The New 500's unveiling was initially planned for the now-canceled Geneva auto show. The presentation on Wednesday was held at an event in Milan, a rarity as large gatherings have been discouraged by authorities in most of northern Italy, which has seen Europe's worst virus outbreak.

"We are here to show that FCA is close to Milan and to Italy," Olivier Francois, head of the Fiat brand and Fiat Chrysler Automobile's chief marketing officer, told a restricted audience of journalists, before a press conference at Milan's design museum, where chairs were placed a meter apart to comply with local authority health requirements.

Fiat unveiled the New 500's convertible version in Milan. The launch version will cost 37,900 euros ($42,700) in Italy, excluding government environmental incentives. That compares with a starting price of 16,000 euros for a gasoline-engine 500. The three-door hatchback will cost less will be unveiled on July 4.

"The 500 is not mass market, it's not the cheapest car in its segment, and so it will continue to be," Francois said.

The New 500 has 320-km (200-mile) range in Europe's WLTP cycle, can rise to 400 km in the WLTP urban cycle, which is more favorable to electric vehicles, Fiat said. It is powered by an 87-kilowatt (116-hp) electric motor and a 42-kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack. 

The New 500 accelerates fast from a standing start, thanks to its electric drivetrain. It can accelerate from 0 to 50 kph in 3.1 seconds and from 0 to 100 kph in 9 seconds. Its top speed is limited to 150 kph.

An 85-kilowatt fast charger is supplied as standard. The 500 can be charged to add 50 km range in five minutes, more than is needed for average daily use, Fiat said. It an reach an 80 percent charge in 35 minutes. A full charge takes 6 hours using a 7.4-kW home wall box.  

Safety equipment includes front-facing camera monitoring technology that monitors all areas of the car, both longitudinally and laterally.

Its adaptive cruise control system brakes or accelerates in response to cars, cyclists, pedestrians. Lane Centering keeps the vehicle in the center of the lane when the markings are correctly identified. Sensors provide an all around view to avoid any obstacles when parking or performing complex maneuvers.

The New 500 is slightly bigger than the gasoline-engine car currently on sale. It has a 20 mm longer wheelbase at 2320 mm and is 60 mm longer at 3631 mm, 60 mm wider at 1687 mm and 20 mm taller at 1508 mm.

It will be sold initially in Europe only, with Fiat hoping to sell 80,000 a year at full capacity. The car will be also sold in Brazil starting next year. Exports to the U.S. could follow if there is sufficient demand, Francois said.

Fiat has allotted 500 units of the launch edition to each of the 28 European countries, he said.  The allotment would make 14,000 units, which "could be an estimate of the deliveries level in 2020," Francois said.

Preproduction has already started at Fiat's Mirafiori plant in Turin and full production will start in June. First deliveries will arrive in dealerships in August.

Rivals to the New 500 will include a battery-powered version of the Twingo minicar from Renault, the Twingo Z.E., that will be available at the end of this year and an EV from Renault's sister brand Dacia, whose Spring concept  previews the car due to launch in Europe next year based on the Renault City K-ZE minicar currently built and sold in China.

The Honda e will go on sale in Europe in the summer and the automaker expects to sell about 10,000 units annually in the region. Volkswagen Group sells full-electric versions of its VW Up, Skoda Citigo and Seat Mii minicars.

Fiat will gradually quit Europe's minicar segment to try to shift its minicar customers to the more profitable subcompact segment, FCA CEO Mike Manley said in November.

The internal combustion 500 will remain on sale “for some years” with gasoline and mild-hybrid powertrains, according to the Quattroruote Italian motoring website.

The current 500 is built in Poland. Its European sales fell 8.6 percent to 164,648 last year, according to JATO Dynamics market researchers.

The first-generation electric 500 was built in Mexico and sold only in the United States to comply with emissions rules on zero-emission cars. In 2014, former FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne asked customers not to buy the 500e because the company was losing money on it.

The original 500 was launched in the late 1950s and known affectionately as the "Cinquecento." It quickly become a symbol of Italian urban design.

The new electric 500 is part of a plan announced in 2018 to invest 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) in Italy up to 2021. It is the group's first major step into electric-powered driving.

FCA plans to have 12 electrified vehicles in its fleet by 2021. That includes both hybrid and full electric vehicles, new cars and electrified versions of existing ones, and light commercial vehicles.

The Italian-American automaker earlier this year started selling hybrid versions of the 500 and of its Panda.

Its Jeep brand is also set to start producing hybrid versions of its Renegade and Compass models in the second quarter of this year, while its luxury Maserati brand plans to introduce hybrid and fully electric models this year or next.

Reuters contributed to this report