Here’s why the Tesla Model 3’s lease deal is way better than the FIAT 500e’s
The 2024 FIAT 500e MSRP is $6,500 cheaper than the Tesla Model 3, yet it costs $100 per month less to lease the Model 3 – here’s why.
Expand Expanding CloseThe 2024 FIAT 500e MSRP is $6,500 cheaper than the Tesla Model 3, yet it costs $100 per month less to lease the Model 3 – here’s why.
Expand Expanding CloseIt’s not a good week to be working at Stellantis. As it (finally) moves to try to sell EVs in the US, the automaker just laid off 400 US salaried tech workers and software engineers on Friday. Today the company announced that it was slashing more than 1,500 jobs in Turin, Italy, due to what it says are slow sales of its all-electric Fiat 500e city car. [Updated: Stellantis announced later after publication that the total number of layoffs in Italy would be 2,500.]
Expand Expanding CloseStellantis-owned Fiat has had high hopes for its all-electric Fiat 500, available in the US, but now a report says that the company may backtrack due to low demand and add an ICE version to the lineup.
Expand Expanding CloseJeep, RAM, Dodge, and Fiat owner Stellantis is launching its first passenger electric vehicles in the US this year. The first to roll out, the Fiat 500e, is already drawing in new dealers ahead of deliveries.
Expand Expanding CloseThe first Stellantis brand EV destined for the US rolled off the assembly line this week. The all-electric Fiat 500e will arrive in the US by the end of March after selling out of its first dealer allocation in less than a week.
Expand Expanding CloseEVs drivers in Italy are a rare breed. And Stellantis’s CEO Carlos Tarvares says the government needs to step in and do more, a lot more, to promote EVs in a country with only 4% EV adoption rate, reports Automotive News Europe. Italy has some of the oldest, most polluting cars in Europe, and is lagging way behind other European countries in EV adoption, with an incentive program that has been practically nonexistent.
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The beloved city car Fiat Panda, the brand’s bestselling model in Europe, will get a new look next summer as a larger model that’s available in a fully electric version for around €23,300 (about $25K).
The Fiat 500e will return to the US as one of the most affordable EV options on the market. The brand aims to revitalize sales with the 2024 Fiat 500e starting at under $33,000.
Expand Expanding CloseFiat is preparing to revamp its brand in the US. The Italian automaker is bringing its top-selling electric car, the Fiat 500e, back to the US in an attempt to take on Tesla and the booming EV market.
With Fiat sales diminishing to nearly nothing over the past several years, analysts believe an affordable and unique EV, like the new 500e, can help turn the brand’s perception around.
Expand Expanding CloseIt’s been a rough week for one of Europe’s best-selling electric cars, the zippy little Zoe, which failed Euro NCAP’s latest round of grueling vehicle safety tests with a grand total of zero stars out of five, a huge blow to a vehicle that previously boasted five-star ratings in earlier models. Is it the end of the road for the beloved Zoe?
Expand Expanding CloseIt’s fair to say that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) hasn’t been the fastest off the mark when it comes to electric cars. With the lead-footedness displayed across all its brands — Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, and Ram — you could be forgiven for thinking that the Italian-American multinational simply isn’t interested in having an electric future. Or a future at all.
Expand Expanding CloseFiat-Chrysler has been slow and hesitant about electric cars. But it appears that Olivier François, Fiat’s brand president, is finally coming around to EVs. He explained why the demand for the new Fiat 500, which is exclusively electric, could “explode.”
The new Fiat 500e was slated for its launch in early March at the canceled Geneva International Motor Show. Instead, Fiat chief Olivier François stars in an 18-minute virtual press conference for the new 500, which is exclusively electric. What unfolds in those few minutes is a jaw-dropping display of greenwashing, complete with a natural pebble key fob, melodic EV pedestrian acoustics, Leo DiCaprio name-drops, a paint job that supposedly cleans the air, and claims of an eco-revolution.
Carlos Tavares, chief executive of Groupe PSA (formerly PSA Peugeot Citroën), was already ambivalent about EVs. A few weeks ago, he said, “We are selling our electric vehicles to green addicts.” Fiat Chrysler has also been reluctant to invest in electric vehicles. But the planned merger between the two would have allowed them to share EV-development costs — and finally deliver electric cars on a large global scale.
But it now appears that negotiations to finalize the merger are being threatened by the coronavirus.
The new all-electric Fiat 500e was set to debut this week at the Geneva Motor Show, which has been canceled due to the coronavirus. In the confusion, leaked images of the new, stylish, urban Cinquecento EV emerged on the web. The shots reveal the third-generation as bolder, cleaner, and less retro than its predecessor. The photos of the fully retractable roof are especially inviting.
The last of the first-gen Fiat 500e electric minicars left US dealerships in 2019. But it’s coming back in about a year with an updated style and an expected range of about 125 miles. That’s not a lot, but relatively consistent with a breed of small Euro-chic EVs like the Honda E, BMW i3, and Mini Cooper SE. Besides, small electric cars like the Fiat 500e might be the only segment that Tesla is ceding to the competition.
This week’s announcement of a 50-50 merger between the PSA Groupe and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) could create the world’s fourth-largest automaker. A big winner in the marriage is vehicle electrification.
Since the resurgence of the electric car in the current decade, the used electric car market has been mostly weak aside from the occasional deal. Of course, that’s because it’s still a very small market, but it’s now about to be significantly more active primarily because of leases ending.
You are going to want to keep an eye on the used electric car market in 2017.
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Earlier this summer, Lucasfilm announced that Fiat’s FCA will be one of six major brand participating in an “expensive and historic” promotional campaign for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. As part of the campaign, FCA unveiled a custom-painted Fiat 500e stormtrooper at the LA Auto Show last week.
The Fiat 500e is equipped with a 24 kWh battery pack and can achieve 87 EPA-rated miles on a single charge. At a MSRP of $32,795, the 500e can be an interesting smaller alternative to the Nissan LEAF, Chevy Spark or Kia Soul EV, but like the Soul EV, it suffers from the price comparison with its gasoline-powered counterpart, which starts at $17,990.
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Top Gear USA did an Electric Episode called ‘Fully Charged’ yesterday showcasing three all-electric cars: Fiat 500E, Ford Fusion and Nissan Leaf. The tests were mostly silly and these petrol-heads probably aren’t a good representation of the car-buying public
..but there were a few redeeming moments.
They took a break from the silly tests to show electric dragsters which smoked a decked out Camaro ZL1. Also at the end, a Tesla Model S smoked that same Camaro ZL1 in a drag test then proceeded to beat a $100K Mercedes in a road test (with an extra large man in the car). If you can’t view it at the History Channel, this Reddit thread has some other ideas.
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