Could the New Fiat 500e Revive the Fiat Brand in the USA?

Fiat is bringing its new 500e to the US, and we will have a writer who actually owns a 500e testing it out on the roads of Miami soon. We’re excited, because the Fiat 500e has always been a fun, cute, appealing electric car — and the new version offers big improvements.

But there’s more to it for me than just a fun new EV. I actually thought Fiat was on the verge of leaving the US market. I track quarterly US auto sales by brand, and Fiat’s sales have been falling for years. They’ve gotten quite minimal. For a market as big as the US, it almost doesn’t seem possible. Of course, Americans are not known for buying small cars, so it’s  both not that surprising and seemed ominous for Fiat. So, I figured that we’d get an announcement from Fiat soon that it’s pulling out of the US market.

However, then we received news of the Fiat 500e’s coming relaunch in the States. And the car is quite a big hit in Europe, so there’s no good reason it couldn’t find buyers in the US. We’ll see what’s to come from the little cutie, but it might be just what the little Italian Stellantis brand needs to revive itself on this side of the Atlantic.

And good news on the street is that the 500e is drawing a lot of interest at Fiat dealers already, ahead of launch. “The brand’s buzz-building strategy has prompted some dealers to ask about adding the single-vehicle line, Fiat North America chief Aamir Ahmed said.”