Photo: Fiat / Stellantis
Back in 2014, Fiat decided to expand the 500 range with a crossover, which was called 500X. It received a restyled version in 2018 with numerous improvements, but it is not going to stick around in this formula forever. The Italian brand is planning an EV rebirth of the 500X, but it appears that it will not reach American soil in its new form.
The shift will happen once Fiat becomes an all-electric brand, which is set to happen by 2030. While the 500X will get an EV successor in one form or another by that time, the North American market will not receive that model. However, it does not mean that Americans cannot get a 500X today, tomorrow, or even a year from today.
According to Olivier Francois, the Fiat brand's CEO, when "it dies, it dies." Until then, it will be upgraded in line with the range with various elements, such as multimedia units, wheels, and other options if the company sees fit to add them to make the model more attractive to the public.
While a direct explanation for the upcoming elimination of the 500X range from the U.S. and Canada has not been provided per se in an interview with the folks at Motor Trend, the CEO of Fiat has stated that the company wants to have a single model strategy in North America, with the 500e being the only one offered there.
As Olivier Francois explained, "it's the one model people like," and that is as close to an explanation as to the end of the 500X as one can receive. For those interested in figures, it appears that the 500 managed to account for 60 percent of the segment's sales when it was available in the U.S., while the 500X and 500L did not come close to it, so they were skipped for the North American-bound EV transformation.
In case you believed that a single model strategy was risky, Fiat's CEO explained that "Fiat is not here to be everything to everyone everywhere," which is a healthy proposal for a mature market. To keep things even more simple, Fiat will only offer the 500e in the U.S. with a single trim level and with the largest battery available in the range.
It is worth noting that the Fiat 500 was previously available in an electric version in the U.S. about a decade ago, but FCA, which was Fiat's parent company at the time, was losing money on each unit sold, so it was eventually discontinued.
Later, the Fiat 500 was cut from the brand's U.S. line-up after the 2019 model year, so the 500e will make a return to the North American market next year, when it will be shown as an MY2023 vehicle. It will become the only model in the Fiat range that is available in Canada and the United States of America.
According to Olivier Francois, the Fiat brand's CEO, when "it dies, it dies." Until then, it will be upgraded in line with the range with various elements, such as multimedia units, wheels, and other options if the company sees fit to add them to make the model more attractive to the public.
While a direct explanation for the upcoming elimination of the 500X range from the U.S. and Canada has not been provided per se in an interview with the folks at Motor Trend, the CEO of Fiat has stated that the company wants to have a single model strategy in North America, with the 500e being the only one offered there.
As Olivier Francois explained, "it's the one model people like," and that is as close to an explanation as to the end of the 500X as one can receive. For those interested in figures, it appears that the 500 managed to account for 60 percent of the segment's sales when it was available in the U.S., while the 500X and 500L did not come close to it, so they were skipped for the North American-bound EV transformation.
In case you believed that a single model strategy was risky, Fiat's CEO explained that "Fiat is not here to be everything to everyone everywhere," which is a healthy proposal for a mature market. To keep things even more simple, Fiat will only offer the 500e in the U.S. with a single trim level and with the largest battery available in the range.
It is worth noting that the Fiat 500 was previously available in an electric version in the U.S. about a decade ago, but FCA, which was Fiat's parent company at the time, was losing money on each unit sold, so it was eventually discontinued.
Later, the Fiat 500 was cut from the brand's U.S. line-up after the 2019 model year, so the 500e will make a return to the North American market next year, when it will be shown as an MY2023 vehicle. It will become the only model in the Fiat range that is available in Canada and the United States of America.
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