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Fiat Confirms Discontinuation Of the 500 In the U.S., Doesn’t Offer A Reason

Following multiple reports in regard to the fate of the 500 for the 2020 model year in the United States, the peeps at Fiat decided to confirm the news with a statement. The problem with the reply, however, is that an explanation hasn’t been offered for this change in the lineup.
Fiat 500 1 photo
Photo: Fiat
“Fiat will discontinue production of the current-generation Fiat 500 and 500e in North America,” and “current inventory of the 2019 Fiat 500 and 500e will last into 2020.” The short release then goes on to highlight that the Italians will soldier on with the 500X crossover, 124 Spider roadster, and 500L family car in this part of the world without giving more details.

If you’re looking for an answer in regard to the departure of the 500 from U.S. soil, blame Fiat for not understanding customers in North America. Sales were woeful from the get-go, but 2018 and January through August 2019 were particularly bad from a commercial standpoint. Not even European customers are that receptive to the cutesy 500, and that speaks volumes.

Fret not, however, because Fiat continues to be a stubborn automaker through and through. Chief executive officer Oliver Francois told the media that Fiat has a double mission in the short to mid-term, namely urban mobility and small passenger cars such as the 500. Dear execs, those are the reasons the 500 failed in the U.S. and continues to fall in Europe. Signed, everyone.

The 500 will receive a thorough redesign in 2020 for the 2021 model year, including the 500e electric vehicle, but we aren’t keeping our hopes up for an upturn. Volkswagen had to discontinue the Beetle earlier this year because people are no longer interested in retro-flavored city dwellers. But as opposed to the Germans, Fiat doesn’t feel the need to ramp up the lineup with utility vehicles because Jeep does that for the FCA group.

Given these circumstances, the 500X becomes the cheapest Fiat in the United States at $19,995 excluding destination charge. Bear in mind the U.S. website lists the 2018 model year at the time of reporting, going to show that commercial success is a faraway dream. The 500L follows suit for 2019 at $22,160 while the 124 Spider serves as the pinnacle at $25,440.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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