Following several teasers released this week, Fiat has confirmed the second-generation 500e will indeed be coming to the United States, but not right away. The announcement was made today at the 2022 Los Angeles Auto Show where the Italian brand plans to unveil the US version of the electric hatchback next year. It's scheduled to go on sale in North America in the first quarter of 2024 or roughly four years after the European model.
Although we will have to wait another year to see the US-spec model, Fiat did create three one-offs based on its cutesy EV to ease the wait. On display at the LA show, the 500e Giorgio Armani, Kartell, and Bvlgari provide a sophisticated take on the charismatic city car. All three have been fully customized inside and out, and the automaker says the cars portray the model's "three souls: sustainable design, sustainable fashion, and sustainable luxury."
Fiat 500e Giorgio Armani, Kartell, and Bvlgari
It's too soon to say whether the US-bound 500e will be any different than the version available on the Old Continent. Fiat sells its pint-sized electric hatchback exclusively with a front-mounted motor good for 117 horsepower and 220 Newton-meters (162 pound-feet) of torque. A more potent Abarth derivative will premiere on November 22, so here's hoping North America will get the performance version as well.
The regular Fiat 500 in Europe is available with two battery sizes, 24 kWh and 42 kWh, with a WLTP range of 115 miles (185 kilometers) and 199 miles (320 kilometers), respectively. As we've seen on plenty of other EVs that were initially sold in Europe before coming to the US, the numbers are likely to go down for the EPA-certified range.
It should be mentioned the previous-generation Fiat 500 is still sold in Europe with combustion engines even though production for North America ended in 2019. Not only that, but Abarth still has the ICE-powered hot hatchback and it even gave the forbidden fruit an update for 2023 by bringing back a historic livery.
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