Petrol-powered city car will finally enter a new generation after 18 years, using electric 500e underpinnings
Fiat has released the first images of the new 500 Hybrid, revealing it will get an overhauled interior and a six-speed manual gearbox.
Photographs of a group of pre-release prototypes show that it will look identical to the electric 500e except for a reworked front grille to feed more air to a petrol engine.
Inside, the dashboard features a larger and squarer new storage cubby and the gearlever is elevated alongside the steering wheel – as in the old petrol 500.
Fiat has yet to confirm which powertrain the 500 Hybrid will use, but it’s expected to employ the same 1.0-litre three-cylinder mild-hybrid Firefly engine featured in the old 500 and Fiat Panda.
The presence of a manual gearbox rules out the 1.2-litre three-cylinder mild-hybrid Puretech engine used in a wide range of models under the Stellantis corporate umbrella, such as the new Fiat Grande Panda, because it has been offered exclusively with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
Production of the 500 Hybrid will begin in the fourth quarter of this year – earlier than the early 2026 deadline previously set by Fiat.
The move to retrofit an electric car with a combustion engine is unprecedented in the European car industry.
Several reports in March 2024 suggested that the bold measure was borne out of two key challenges.
First was the need to up production rates at the Mirafiori factory amid slow sales of the 500e and its Abarth 500e hot hatch sibling, which led Fiat to pause production on several occasions last year.
Meanwhile, it ended production of the old petrol 500 (which accounted for the majority of 500 sales), as the 17-year-old model fell foul of new EU legislation on cybersecurity, which would have required a costly rehomologation effort.
Fiat CEO Olivier François acknowledged the challenges, saying in a statement that the 500 Hybrid will boost production at Mirafiori “to ensure the plant’s productivity”.
He added that launching a new combustion-engined 500 in response to flagging sales of the EV serves as “proof that social relevance is at the core of the brand mission”.
Fiat previously said it would also invest some €100 million (£85m) into the 500e, with plans to redesign its platform for new battery technologies aimed at improving its affordability.
This suggests that an update for the EV is also due around 2026.
Source: Autocar
