Customers facing uncertain times tend to make purchase choices that remove or minimize uncertainty from their lives, and this is just one problem that the Fiat 500 faces as it looks to the future. The Fiat 500 has never exactly flown off of dealer lots in North America, popular as it might be in other markets where drivers prefer smaller vehicles, and where narrow cobbled streets often necessitate them. Despite limited success on our shores, various sources are reporting that the automaker has already confirmed a next-generation Fiat 500 will arrive in 2032 and that it’ll be built at Fiat’s famous Mirafiori plant in Turin. That’s according to Quattroroute, who reported that Stellantis plans to maintain a strong manufacturing base in Italy, centered around one of Italy’s most well-known little cars. Today, many automakers follow a ‘build where you sell’ ideology when it comes to manufacturing, and keeping Fiat 500 production in Italy lets Stellantis continue that trend.
From Turin With Love, And For A Long Time To Come
It is anybody’s guess how this will all pan out, as things are a bit up in the air for Stellantis lately. They’re currently reeling from various challenges, including product delays, supply chain issues reverberating from the COVID era, and the sudden departure of CEO Carlos Tavares earlier this month. According to Quattroroute, Jean-Philippe Imparato, the recently installed COO at Stellantis for the Enlarged Europe region, says Fiat 500 production will run at the Mirafiori plant well into the 2030s because the plant is synonymous with the Fiat 500 and a part of its identity.
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Imparato says the plant will be developed to produce a hybrid-powered version of the 500 in late 2025, bridging the gap between combustion and electric for the uncertain shopper who might have their mind set on something between a pure gas or pure electric vehicle.
Indecisive Customers And Chaotic Times
Amidst Stellantis’s recent chaos, Imparato says that customers are uncertain on whether to buy an EV now, or whether to wait. While customers remain widely indecisive, Fiat’s only electric offering, the 500e, has been off to a slow start and competitive pressure is ramping up in a serious way. According to Quattroruote, Imparato said that backflips are being made on EVs, and customers aren’t quite sure where to go. Economic considerations, changing regulations, and increasing availability of gas, hybrid, and EV competition are leaving customers with more choices, and more uncertainty than is ideal for quickly pushing disruptive new products to market.
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On our side of the pond, Tim Kuniskis, who left Stellantis earlier this year, returned yesterday to become the new CEO of the Ram brand, effective immediately in the wake of Tavares’s departure. Focusing solely on Ram, Kuniskis’s re-arrival will allow the brand to operate in a structure that will drive the best outcomes, and unlock significant potential, for the region. Stellantis is going through a shake-up right now, and these are early reports – though more details about the future of Stellantis’s plans are expected in the coming weeks.
Source:
Quattroruote
News Summary:
- Fiat’s Most Iconic Car Will Keep The Italian Flag Flying High Well Into The Next Decade
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