Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
As you already know, Fiat has big plans for Europe starting in 2020. The Geneva Motor Show is where the all-new 500e will be unveiled, described as “dolce vita in an electric car” by chief marketing officer Olivier Francois.
The EV has been spied recently undergoing testing in Germany, clad in camouflage but different from the outgoing model. The front and rear bumpers appear to hide a few changes to the exterior design, and as you can tell from the photo gallery, the charging port is where the fuel filler cap is on the ICE-only models with the 0.9-liter TwinAir and 1.2-liter Fire engines.
A radiator can also be seen in the case of one of a total of three prototypes, but what has made us extremely curious is the cockpit. Down the center console, there’s a Jaguar-style rotary gear selector with a few buttons scattered around it. The ones that caught our attention are the 4WD High and 4WD Auto, which suggests that Fiat might be developing an all-wheel-drive system or a dual-motor setup.
On the other hand, the auto start/stop button certainly doesn’t belong there. In all likelihood, those buttons aren’t connected to anything hiding under the skin of the Cinquecento. The instrument cluster, central infotainment system, and the steering wheel also differ from the current-get 500 and 500e twins.
The all-electric city dweller is confirmed to start production in 2020 at the Mirafiori plant in Italy, and Fiat plans to build as many as 80,000 examples of the breed every year to satisfy demand. Fiat Chrysler has also announced an investment of $5.4 billion in electric-vehicle manufacturing in Michigan, meaning that the 500e will return to the U.S. of A. for the 2021 model year.
A model called 500 Giardiniera will join the lineup right after the redesigned 500, and the Panda is also scheduled to undergo a top-to-bottom redesign. The 500X is scheduled to get a replacement as well, and as far as the Tipo is concerned, Fiat may replace the economy model with a crossover.
A radiator can also be seen in the case of one of a total of three prototypes, but what has made us extremely curious is the cockpit. Down the center console, there’s a Jaguar-style rotary gear selector with a few buttons scattered around it. The ones that caught our attention are the 4WD High and 4WD Auto, which suggests that Fiat might be developing an all-wheel-drive system or a dual-motor setup.
On the other hand, the auto start/stop button certainly doesn’t belong there. In all likelihood, those buttons aren’t connected to anything hiding under the skin of the Cinquecento. The instrument cluster, central infotainment system, and the steering wheel also differ from the current-get 500 and 500e twins.
The all-electric city dweller is confirmed to start production in 2020 at the Mirafiori plant in Italy, and Fiat plans to build as many as 80,000 examples of the breed every year to satisfy demand. Fiat Chrysler has also announced an investment of $5.4 billion in electric-vehicle manufacturing in Michigan, meaning that the 500e will return to the U.S. of A. for the 2021 model year.
A model called 500 Giardiniera will join the lineup right after the redesigned 500, and the Panda is also scheduled to undergo a top-to-bottom redesign. The 500X is scheduled to get a replacement as well, and as far as the Tipo is concerned, Fiat may replace the economy model with a crossover.
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