After announcing major plans for the future, Fiat have revealed that their future is very much electric and that they have their sights firmly set on industry leaders Tesla.
The Italian brand has been in the doldrums over the last decade, withdrawing the ever popular Punto from sale and having limited success with other models other than the front-running Fiat 500. But thanks to major investment from Stellantis, Fiat are now back brighter and bolder.
Fiat’s current UK fleet of the 500, Tipo and Panda will receive a major facelift, with the introduction of a supermini and three brand new crossovers within the next three years.
Speaking to Autocar, the Fiat boss Olivier Francois said: “Now we enter a new world. Finally, we’re able to deliver on our dreams. In the next five years, we’re going to launch one new car per year per region – and globally we’re able to create cars that are common everywhere in the world, which is something we’ve struggled with in the past.
“There will be a big return in the B-segment and crossovers. We’re going back to the most relevant segments. We only have the 500X now. My objective is to have three.”
The report suggests that Fiat’s expansion will remain in the number of new models, but not in the general size of their vehicles and that the bigger models will be covered by their stablemate, Citroen.
“Our cousin [in Stellantis] is Citroën,” said Francois.
“The stories are different, but we’re two people brands and share a lot. I think what’s interesting is that we can divide the market in terms of size. We can be the specialist in smaller cars and then Citroën has more legitimacy to cover the D-segment – and, of course, there will be some overlap in the middle.
“Fiat should be the people’s Tesla: electric for all. Clearly, we need the cost of electrification to go down. By 2027, we will be ready, but possibly before. It will depend on cost. I want us to be the first mass-market brand to be electric-only.”