Alexandre
We've come to the end of a long soap opera for the Fiat 500, extensively detailed and documented on Italpassion. Initially planned only as an electric version, the new Fiat 500 has undergone a turnaround with the announcement of a thermal hybrid version for 2026. Faced with lower sales figuresFiat has finally decided to produce a hybrid version manufactured in Italy, in the same factory as the electric version. During a visit by Fiat CEO Olivier François to the Mirafiori plant, many grey areas were cleared up. Here's everything you need to know about the new Fiat 500 hybrid. All good news!
A "Made in Italy" hybrid engine
The heart of this little city car will be a three-cylinder, naturally-aspirated 1.0 FireFly engine, produced at Termoli, Italy (plans to turn the plant into a battery gigafactory have been postponed). This engine, already used in the Fiat Pandina Hybrid and the Polish 500 Hybrid, will be updated for the new 500 Hybrid. It will deliver 70 hp and 95 Nm of torque, combined with a six-speed manual gearbox.
Local production
The new Fiat 500 hybrid will be produced entirely in Italy. The engine will be manufactured in Termoli, while the manual gearbox will be assembled at the Mirafiori plant, where the eDct6 automatic is already produced. This localization of production underlines Fiat's commitment not only to the Italian automotive industry and its workers, but also to customers who will have an authentic Italian car.
Platform and design
Fiat has confirmed that the new 500 hybrid will be based on the STLA City platformSTLA Small is an evolution of the platform used for the electric 500 (called Mini). There is therefore no migration to STLA Small. This updated chassis will enable significant modifications to be made inside the vehicle, including the integration of a new gear lever for the manual transmission.
To coincide with the launch of the new hybrid version, Fiat also plans to restyle the electric 500with aesthetic and technological enhancements. As a reminder Stellantis invests 100 million euros to upgrade its electric motor and battery. Both versions will share these updates, ensuring design consistency within the 500 range.
Launch date and price
Olivier François, head of the Fiat brand, and Francesco Morosini, head of Fiat & Abarth, announced that the new Fiat 500 hybrid will hit the market between late 2025 and early 2026. Orders will certainly begin in 2025, with deliveries scheduled for early the following year.
In terms of price, the new 500 Hybrid will cost "a few hundred euros more" than the recently withdrawn Polish 500 Hybrid, which had a starting price of 17,700 euros. We can therefore expect a base price around 18,500 eurosThis is due in part to the additional safety features and advanced technologies.
Hybrid until 2029
Fiat also specified that this hybrid version of the 500 will remain in production until at least 2029just like the Fiat Pandina. Let's not forget that by 2030, Stellantis' Dare forward pan forecasts 100 % electric cars in Europe... but when you see that in 6 months everything can change, 2030 is still a long way off.
And abarth? Get moving before the brand falls back into oblivion!
My friends, this is a day to mark with a white cross: the first good news from Stellantis since... the creation of Stellantis.
Yes indeed, 1st good news hoping there will be no change of plan
Olivier François is a great communicator! He almost brought a tear to my eye! All the measures taken by the Italian government have had a positive effect, provoking a somewhat belated but positive reaction (in the long term??) for Italian industry and the brand's image and DNA!
Good news... a little late (how could we not have anticipated the replacement of the 500 hybrid beforehand??) and which, I hope, will not be the exception!
As for the engine! Proof that a lot or everything is just a question of politics! Putting a Puretech in a Fiat or an Alfa is a betrayal, a transgression and total nonsense! Is this turnaround via the return of the Firefly proof that the message has been received?
Peugeot wanted to swallow Fiat and is Fiat finally waking up?
I hope the next Fiat and Alfa hybrids won't have an imported puretech that's just had a little tomato sauce thrown on it!
To be continued... and while we wait for the end of 2025, let's hope sales don't plummet!!!! Because it's not enough to put an Italian flag in a heart!
It's more likely that the 500 developed before the merger was only designed to accommodate a possible Firefly... It remains a survivor of the real Fiat. Great news, the summit would be a version with a "big" 80 hp electric motor and a small internal combustion engine to power it, and thus have the best of both worlds. I remain convinced that the improved electric version will remain relevant throughout northern Europe, provided that prices are reduced.
It's a good thing we're not using a pure Tech engine, to be more Royalist than the King, we could have dreamt of the Firefly 100 hp version that was once fitted to the Tipo!
The new Fiat 500 is indeed much heavier than the old one, and a five-horsepower version could have been nice. And would have advantageously replaced an "Abarth" version, without taking on its flashy, ugly tuning look.
Ah, good news! All-electricity will never be possible for everyone... at least not today with this prototype technology!
If we look at performance, the prototype is no longer the same.
And I sincerely believe that everyone can afford a €6,000 Zoe.
Well... it took a long time, but... what a waste of time, for a project that should have been obvious from the start, and which included the possibility of two engines...
Well, that's almost good news, given the particularly long lead times....
Good news for its future. The choice of the Firefly engine seems entirely logical, given that this Fiat 500 was designed from the outset to be fitted with it... It would have been economically illogical to adapt the puretech, given that a few years later it would have been replaced...
On the other hand, 70 horsepower isn't much. But it deserves to exist and keep this 500 alive a little longer, I'd even say surviving.
Good news. The FireFly engine isn't dead, and is an excellent replacement for the PureTech. Now it's time to put FireFly engines in Stellantis' other Italian cars, because no Italian car buyer wants a PureTech.
Phew...
No more Fiat 500. Unreliable, so let's think about a 500 hybrid.
It was so obvious.....the group's other brands will also all, without exception, push the 100% elec far, far away.
An Abarth 600 thermal and I may change my 595C 8)
I'm afraid that the 70 hp Firefly is undersized on this model, which is heavier than the current one I own, and is a bit tight when you need a quick boost in traffic. A few more hp and especially more torque would be welcome.
That's a good thing, because the Fait is much more solid. After a Cinquecento and 272,000 km, a Seicento 326,000 km, a Panda 2 diesel 210,000 km, a Panda 3, 2 cylinders, 240,000 km, a 500 découvrante 2 cylinders 246.000 km, which we still own and will keep as a collector's item, as we don't want all those driving aids, and finally a Panda 3, 3-cylinder hybrid from May 2021, with 113,000 km to date, which we may keep, as we don't want the name Pandina and future driving aids. All this with a clutch, a cooling thermostat, a rear suspension arm on the Seicento, a front bearing on the last Panda, so here's to repairs, then the Peugeot engine !
500 brand new automatic I hope!!!!