The electric Fiat 500 could be retrofitted with a petrol engine to replace the ageing combustion-powered 500, which faces being pulled from sale in Europe later this year due to new cybersecurity laws, according to reports.
Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera first reported that Fiat sent a letter to its suppliers asking if they could fulfil an increase in production levels at its plant in Mirafiori, Italy, to 175,000 cars per year.
Trade publication Automotive News Europe (ANE) cited suppliers that claim this increase of almost 100,000 cars (compared with the 77,260 built at Mirafiori in 2023) would almost entirely comprise petrol-engined 500s.
The unprecedented prospect of retrofitting an electric car with a combustion engine reportedly comes because of forthcoming new cybersecurity requirements in the EU.
Their introduction would prevent the existing petrol-engined 500 – which has been built in Tychy, Poland, since its 2007 launch – from remaining on sale without being rehomologated at substantial cost.
The same rules will soon bring an end to sales of the Porsche Macan and 718 Boxster/Cayman in the EU.
Although the UK’s automotive industry typically follows EU precedent, those cars will remain on sale here, suggesting that the Tychy 500 could too get a stay of execution.
ANE reported that Fiat has yet to sign off on converting the 500 EV to petrol power. It's possible that it could decide to update the Tychy 500 yet again, as it did with the related Fiat Panda, which was granted a stay of execution until at least 2027.
However, ANE added that the 500 EV's platform is an evolution of that from the Alfa Romeo Mito and the car is built on the old Mito production line, suggesting everything is already in place for a petrol conversion. The process would take 18-24 months nonetheless, reported ANE.
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EV sales in general are waning in favor of hybrids. Even Alfa Romeo, who had pledged to go all EV has leaked the next Giulia will have an ICE version. As a current satisfied Abarth 500 Essesse owner, I welcome a petrol version of the new 500.
Being slightly larger would improve the usability of the 500 no doubt, so a petrol equivalent to the EV would be pretty good I'd have thought.
Whilst i agree that a petrol version will be good, i think there are plenty of reasons people dont want an EV beyond cost to buy. Such as no where to charge at home, needing to drive further than the EV range in 1 day, the cost of insurance, the concerns of reliability, depreciation, and i am sure there are plenty more. For me an EV would need to be much less expensive than the petrol alternative to make it worth the agro etc.