Global site navigation

Fiat 500 electric production pauses for one month
Business and Economy

Fiat 500 electric production pauses for one month

by  AFP 1 min read
Stellantis wants to put a more powerful battery into the Fiat 500e to give it a greater range
Stellantis wants to put a more powerful battery into the Fiat 500e to give it a greater range. Photo: Marco Bertorello / AFP/File
Source: AFP

Don't miss out! Get your daily dose of sports news straight to your phone. Join YEN's Sports News channel on WhatsApp now!

Carmaker Stellantis said Thursday it would halt production of the electric version of its emblematic Fiat 500 in Italy due to weak demand, a move that comes as EV sales have slowed in Europe.

Growth in electric vehicles has stalled in many European countries, in part due to expiration of government incentives.

"This measure is necessary to a current lack of orders," said Stellantis in a statement.

The carmaker added it was investing 100 million euros ($110 million) to give the compact model a stronger battery and boost production capacity at the Fiat Mirafiori factory outside Turin.

The current Fiat 500e offers a range of up to 320 kilometres (199 miles).

Europe intends to end sales of new fossil fuel-powered cars in 2035 but uptake of battery-electric vehicles has been hobbled by their high prices and limited range.

Read also

Crisis-hit Volkswagen scraps German job protection deal

PAY ATTENTION: All celebrity news in one place! Follow YEN's Facebook Broadcast channel and read on the go.

Government incentives have helped temporarily boost sales while in the longer term new cheaper and more powerful batteries could expand uptake.

Plans for Europe to manufacture more of its own batteries took a hit earlier this week when Swedish electric car battery manufacturer said it would cut its workforce and scale back operations.

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.

Hot: