Since the disappearance of the Punto in 2018, FIAT only has a single model in the B segment (utility vehicles), one of the most important in the European market: the 500X. However, this will change in 2023 with the arrival of two new proposals for this category that will allow the transalpine firm to recover market share.
Like most future launches of the Stellantis group, these vehicles will have 100% electric versions. It is planned that one of them will be a utility vehicle approximately 4 meters long, while the second will be a B-SUV of about 4.15 meters located one step below the current 500X.
Both will be based on the second-generation CMP/eCMP platform. While the SUV will be assembled in Tychy (Poland) along with the Alfa Romeo Brennero and Jeep Jeepster, the plant from which the hatchback will come out is still unknown. The final location will be announced early next year.
“Next year FIAT will have at least two new models in the B segment. We are investing 14,000 million annually in research, development, and plants and Italy is an important part of our industrial plan”, Carlos Tavares declared during these long-awaited launches, CEO of Stellantis .
The new FIAT Panda will be bigger
It is confirmed that one of these models will be the fourth generation Panda, which will grow in size and go from segment A to B. However, it is still not clear if it will be the hatchback or the SUV, since the Panda has always moved between two glasses of water, as its Cross, 4 × 4, and Cross 4 × 4 versions show.
If we had to bet, we would say that the Panda will be the B-SUV manufactured in Poland, although we should not rule out that this name will eventually end up being used in a crossover utility derived from the fourth generation Citroën C3, which will be assembled in Slovakia. In case the Panda is the SUV, the hatchback could be the rumored five-door 500 Giardiniera, so its production could take place in Figueruelas (Zaragoza, Spain).
To these two important electric novelties, we would have to add a third: the Topolino, a quadricycle derived from the Citroën Ami that will also hit the market over the next year. In front of his French brother, the Italian will bet on a more careful and flirtatious aesthetic, probably inspired by the lines of the 500.
