Fiat is serious about electrification, with the Italian firm hoping to be an EV-only brand by 2027 in Europe and by 2030 worldwide. And it has now been revealed that Fiat will stop selling ICE-only vehicles in the UK from this July, favoring hybrids and EVs instead. A few months ago the Fiat Tipo and 500X became the final models in Fiat's lineup to receive a hybrid option. As a result, Fiat will no longer offer any non-hybrid vehicles in the UK market.
Greg Taylor, Fiat and Abarth UK managing director, had the following to say (via Autocar UK):
“This step in Fiat’s history marks a pivotal point in our commitment to providing affordable and sustainable mobility solutions for all of our customers. The move lends itself to our vehicles, which are suited to urban areas.”
Currently Fiat only has two all-electric offerings - the 500e and E-Ulysse. However, several more fully electric Fiats are coming soon. Unfortunately in the US Fiat doesn't sell either of its EVs at the moment. In fact it only offers one model in America, the dated 500X - US sales of which have been remarkably low in recent times (just under 1,200 were sold last year, for reference Fiat USA sold over 12,500 500X units back in 2016).
Hence it comes as no surprise that Fiat wants to reposition its brand image. CEO Olivier François wants the marque to become "the people's Tesla". He believes Fiat can achieve this by offering all-electric, partially autonomous vehicles that are still considered affordable by the majority of people. And Fiat isn't forgetting about America - it still intends to sell its EVs there, it's just unclear what ones. Crossovers are a safe bet - the replacement for the 500X will most likely be all-electric and should come to the US. When that will release remains to be seen, but Fiat aims to have a full EV model lineup by 2027.
