Fiat 500e To Be Made Available In Oregon This Summer
The Fiat 500e — the best electric car of 2013, according to Road & Track — will soon be available somewhere other than California, according to recent reports.
The “cute” little EV will be offered for sale in (at least) a couple of key Oregon markets starting sometime this summer.
Given that the Fiat 500e is essentially just a compliance vehicle — designed specifically to meet California’s zero-emission vehicle mandate — it’s rather humorous to see the (relative) success that the model has had.
The move to expand into markets other than California has been part of Fiat’s plans from the beginning, though, the company says. The company has a three-part rollout plan that features California as the rollout market, followed by other markets with similar emission standards, followed, finally, by the general market.
Green Car Reports provides more info:
Speaking to WardsAuto at the 2014 New York Auto Show, Fiat’s US chief Jason Stoicevich said the 500e plug-in car will go on sale in Oregon this summer. Stoicevich didn’t specifically say when the 500e will arrive in Oregon, how many Fiat dealers will offer it, or how many units the Italian automaker expects to sell.
The 500e won’t sell in large volumes, though. As a compliance car built primarily to satisfy California’s zero-emission vehicle mandate, it was never intended to be a mass-market item.
Still, the vehicle has certainly had some success.
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I didn’t think they had even built enough for CA buyers. Just the minimum to meet the CA requirement.
Right. Don’t think they did. Surprised at some of the statements from Fiat noted above.
Yes, it’s true, Matt. Chrysler/Fiat somehow managed to make an EV that everyone likes, even though Chrysler/Fiat themselves really hate electric cars. Glad their bringing their 500EV to Oregon, even if you can’t get it in California any longer and won’t be able to ever, apparently, anywhere else. One step forward and two steps backwards.
Some 3.5 years into the age of commercially available EVs, we have yet to see any of the established American badged car companies produce a pure electric car (ie: no gasoline range extender) that can be purchased in all 50 states . . . the high end Tesla, of course, being the lone exception. So, its the Japanese manufacturers – specifically Nissan and Mitsubishi – who are providing Americans with an option to own an EV at a mainstream price.
“Some 3.5 years into the age of commercially available EVs, we have yet to see any of the established American badged car companies produce a pure electric car (ie: no gasoline range extender) that can be purchased in all 50 states”
–Gosh, it is really sad when you lay it out like that, isn’t it?…
Yeah, I guess it is a “glass half empty” take on things, Zach. But I really thought we would be a little further along in regards to EV choices today than when viewed from the perspective of late 2010.
The good news is that the Leaf really is available everywhere in the US and – if somewhat less frequently (at least where I live) – a Mitsubishi dealership can sell you an i-MiEV. BMW i3s should be showing up nationwide very soon and I think a significant number of Mercedes dealerships outside of California will sell you a Smart ED now, with a B Class EV coming soon as well. For everyone else, though, it’s strictly PHEVs or nothing at all. So, the glass is slowly filling up, drop by drop.
The California Zero Emissions Mandate has been a bit of a double edged sword, though. The good news is that it’s forcing manufacturers to really make EVs if they want to continue to sell any sort of car in The Golden State. But the OEMs are all too quick to find the loophole aspects of the law, enabling them to make just enough EVs to sell there and not anywhere else.
Maybe it will take the launch of Tesla’s so-called model E in a couple of years to really shake up things. Thankfully, in the mean time, the upper end car buyer can get a Model S today and they, apparently, are selling well.
The Ford Focus Electric is a pure electric that can be purchased in most states. Yeah, it is expensive and a bit klunky but it is pure electric and widely available.
Actually, if you look at the most recent recall information, Fiat built some 4500 of them. That was MUCH more than the few hundred I expected.