Italian automaker Fiat is reportedly planning to launch a second affordable electric vehicle (EV) to join the previously announced Citroën e-C3, as part of parent company Stellantis’ bid to regain relevance and market share.
Fiat brand chief executive officer Olivier Francois recently said in an interview that his company was planning to add a a no-frills Fiat Panda-inspired electric model which would retail for less than €25,000 (around $A42,000).
The new low-priced EV would aim to take on Renault’s Dacia Spring and join the recently announced Citroën e-C3 as part of parent company Stellantis’ efforts to remain relevant in a market quickly shifting to electric.
The news was reported by Bloomberg, which quoted Francois as saying: “There is a real need for more affordable EVs” and that it is “very likely that there will be synergies” between Fiat’s planned Panda-inspired EV and the new Citroën e-C3.
Stellantis announced in June that it was planning to unveil the Citroën e-C3 later this year. Set to be built at the group’s factory in Slovakia, helping to keep costs down, it is expected that the e-C3 would compete somewhere between the Chinse-built Dacia Spring and the electric Opel Astra.
This is just the latest in a string of moves by Stellantis aimed at helping the company regain its relevancy in the global automotive market.
Stellantis, which was formed in 2021 through the merger of Italian–American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA Group, has recently formed a joint venture with Foxconn to produce EV semiconductors.
The group has also unveiled a new EV platform, the STLA Medium, which will be used for passenger cars, crossovers, and SUVs, and boast a range of over 700 kilometres. Stellantis has also greenlit plans for a second EV battery manufacturing facility in the United States in partnership with Samsung SDI.
And all is not bad for Stellantis, who also reported late last month that it had increased sales of EVs by 24% to 169,000 units for the first six months of 2023.
Stellantis now ranks third in the EU30 on battery electric sales, and has 25 different electric models available, with another 23 set to launch through 2024.
