Image: Mark T
Its just over two years since Fiat announced the pricing of its first fully electric offering in Australia, the 500e electric hatchback, with prices starting at $52,500 before on-road costs or closer to $58,000 drive-away.
Now, the company has slashed almost $20,000 off the drive-away price for a limited time on one of Australia’s smallest EVs on the market, with a new drive-away offer of $38,990.
Similarly, the more performance-oriented Abarth 500e Scorpionissima version now has a driveaway offer of $43,990.
For that price with the 500e La Prima variant, you get a 3.63 metre long two-door city electric car that has up to 550 L of boot space with the rear seats folded down.
From a powertrain point of view, the 500e comes with an 87 kW front-mounted motor that powers the wheels with a peak Torque output of 220 Nm.
With that powertrain, it can do the 0-100 km/h sprint in around 9 seconds, which is fairly respectable and zippy enough for an all-electric city hatch.
The 500e’s powertrain is paired with a 42 kWh battery, which can offer up to 311 km of WLTP range.
When it comes to charging, there is an onboard AC-charger which can add up to 11 kW where three-phase powered charger is available. It can also DC charge at up to 85 kW, which is fairly quick for a car with its small battery.
Moving up to the Performance variant, the Abarth 500e Scorpionissima, the Abarth 500e comes with a front-mounted motor producing 114 kW of power and 235 Nm of torque.
With the increased power, it will accelerate the electrified hatch from a standstill to 100 km/h in just 7 seconds, shaving two seconds off the standard version.
This powertrain can be used in three driving modes, which are selected from the centre console. These include Turismo, Scorpion Street or the performance-oriented Scorpion Track mode.
Like the 500e, there is a 42 kWh battery pack that feeds the Abarth’s powertrain and can be topped up with DC fast charging speeds of up to 85 kW.
This would get the battery charged 10-80% in around 35 minutes and can deliver up to 252 km of range in this sportier variant.
These offers are expected to run until 30 September 2025 or until stock is available on these models.
With competition in the EV market only increasing, small niche models are likely to see price reductions in the coming months. One thing is for sure: times to buy an EV are only getting better for drivers looking to make the switch.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.
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Fiat need a new CEO!
Then I'd consider buying one.
don't forget to buy the dip in Tesla ;-) more of a swamp than a dip though
Fiat seriously misjudged the Australian market. If the 500e had been available at a ralistic price I probably would have bought it instead of the BYD Dolphin (which is bigger than I wanted), despite its less up-to-date technology. Size is less important to me now I've become accustomed to the Dolphin - and I appreciate the Dolphin's build quality, handling and performance.
We bought an ocean green one around this price in March. This announcement just confirms a long standing showroom floor price.
Our assessment? We absolutely love it! It gets more positive comments and admiring looks than any other car we have owned. Very zippy performance around town. Sensible electronics with minimal annoyances.
It has dealt with trips to IKEA and collecting 8 square metres of turf from Bunnings so it’s practical enough for us.
Its a full metre shorter than our last car so my workbench is no longer squeezed into the end of the garage and I can work without moving the car out. I have also been able to park in those little spaces that other people reject.
Just remember though, you are still getting a Fiat 500 so seating is 2+2 rather than 4 full seats. Smaller passengers in the back, please. We haven’t done any interstate trips yet but are assuming around 180 km range on the highway. Suits us as I like to stop every 2 hours.
It was always over priced but I have always had soft for the 500. Gina Lollobrigida the actress was also a great photographer, I had one of her books it feature a family packed into a 500 in Rome, a classic shot.