The petrol-powered Fiat 500 has been taken off sale after 17 years, as Fiat prepares for next year’s launch of the new-shape 500 Ibrida.
A spokesperson for Fiat UK confirmed to Autocar that order books for the 500 Hybrid have closed, with dealers holding enough stock to last until the new year.
The same situation concerns the city car’s sporty siblings, the Abarth 595 and 695.
The 500 Ibrida, effectively the electric Fiat 500e retrofitted with the 1.0-litre mild-hybrid petrol engine from the outgoing model, will be launched in early 2025.
Unlike the 500 Hybrid, the 500 Ibrida will not be built in Tychy, Poland. Production will move to the Mirafiori plant in Fiat’s home town of Turin, on the same line as the 500e.
Fiat CEO Olivier François hailed it as a commitment to the Italian car industry, calling the brand’s home nation “our driving force and our future”.
François told Autocar that slow sales of the 500e prompted the development of the 500 Ibrida, stating: “It’s very important for us to fit every expectation wherever we go.”
He said: “We obviously, like everyone else, thought that the world would go electric faster and the cost of electrification would go down faster. But we couldn’t imagine that Covid would happen, shortage of raw materials would happen [and] the European society – not all, not the youngest part – would turn their backs on the sustainable solutions. But this is the reality. We have to face those realities.”
The discontinuation of the 500 comes as Fiat UK also pulls the closely related Panda from its line-up. That model will make way for the new Grande Panda, a larger crossover offering mild-hybrid petrol and electric powertrains.
The duo were the UK’s two oldest cars that you could still order brand new from the factory. That honour is now shared by a number of cars dating from 2015.
