The Fiat 500e Deserves To Succeed If Americans Are Honest With Themselves

The Fiat 500e Deserves To Succeed If Americans Are Honest With Themselves

Fiat is launching the right car at the right time.

The all-new Fiat 500e will arrive during the first quarter of 2024, and I’m here to make a case for its existence. You might be wondering why, as Americans weren’t fans of the modernized gas-powered 500 and hated the previous-generation 500 EV even more.

In fact, the USA appears to be allergic to the Italian brand. Adding the go-faster Abarth models to the mix didn’t help, but the biggest shocker is that the 124 Spider and Spider Abarth failed to find traction. People have been calling for a turbocharged Mazda Miata for ages, and that’s precisely what the Spider was. To be fair, the rest of the world hated the 124, too, so that one is not on us.

After axing most of the models in its range, Fiat was left with only the 500X. The latter has nothing going for it and is a fat 500 with an elevated ride height and robust body cladding. It has no redeeming qualities and looks silly when compared to a (much) cheaper rival like the Kia Soul.

Basically, Fiat is in a bind, and its continued existence in the USA depends almost entirely on the success of the new 500e. It simply can’t bank on the 500X because sales are abysmal. Last year, Fiat sold 445 units. That’s for the entire year. The most successful month was August 2023, when the Italians suckered 50 people into taking a 500X home with them. It’s no wonder the 500X never made it to 2024.

To put the above figure in perspective, we’ll use America’s favorite car, the Ford F-Series. Ford sold roughly 85 per hour in 2023, which means it took the F-150, 250, and 350 just over half one working day to sell more vehicles than Fiat sold during the entire year.

The new 500e and F-150 don’t compete in the same segment, but the beloved Ford truck is Fiat’s biggest problem. We don’t do small in the USA, but the Fiat 500e might change that attitude.

The previous-generation electric Fiat 500 was a good idea but poorly implemented. It had a 24 kWh battery that powered an 83 kW electric motor. The resulting 111 horsepower and 147 lb-ft of torque was good enough for the 500 to feel spirited, but like the BMW i3 and Mazda MX-30, it was let down by range. On a full charge, it could only cover 84 miles. It sucked, and Fiat was OK with that because it cost the automaker more money to build the car than it made with each sale. The late Sergio Marchionne famously publicly declared that he hoped no one bought a 500e because each one sold cost him $14,000.

Fast forward a few years, and we arrive at the 2024 Fiat 500e, which gets to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds and has a starting price of $32,500. It has all the latest tech inside and looks sensational on the outside, especially in red.

But the most important figure is 149 miles, which is the claimed range. It’s still not great compared to cars like the Tesla Model 3, but it’s enough for urban dwellers.

Fiat’s press images paint a clear picture of what the average 500e owner will look like. This car will never play outside its urban and suburban enclosures, but that counts in its favor.

Thanks to urbanization, an estimated 83% of people live in urban areas. That’s the figure for cities and counties in the immediate vicinity. Think Fulton County, which is the most populous in Georgia. The county has roughly one million people, and their average commute distance correlates with the average national daily commute, 41 miles.

For the record, 41 miles is the average for 76.4% of the population, and they drive alone, so a small car like the 500e is perfectly adequate. It’s one of those uncomfortable statistics that EV haters conveniently ignore. As a nation, we’re far too concerned with range when we should actually be focusing on recharging.

The 500e can charge within four hours using an 11 kW Level 2 charger, which is included in the price. If you buy one of these, Free2Move will install a charger at your home. Its 149 miles of range is more than enough if you use your car like a smartphone. And that’s what most people don’t seem to get. You never run an EV down to zero.

If a 500e does 41 miles, its battery pack will be down to roughly 70%. That means the overnight charge won’t even take the four hours mentioned earlier because it only needs to add 30%. The only lifestyle change required is plugging it in, which is what you do with your smartphone anyway, so don’t pretend it’s a hassle.

There are a few outliers, but the above is true for most Americans. The research shows there are more than 325 urban areas in the USA, and that figure will only grow. By 2050, it’s estimated that 89% of the population will live in an urban area. The sprawl of these metropolitan areas will be much larger, but even if the average commute increases by another 20 miles, the Fiat 500e is still good to go.

In short, more people are moving closer to cities, and when you’re that close to everything you need, it’s financially savvy to buy a small EV for your basic daily transportation needs and leave it at home when you’re traveling further away.

Finally, we can’t ignore the way people work post-COVID-19. Unless your job absolutely requires you to be on-site, there’s no reason to go to an office. A hybrid work model has become the standard, and you can have everything you need delivered to your front step. Why would you go out at all? There are people out there.

To understand the future, we must look at the behavioral patterns of various generations. We know that the vast majority of Boomers don’t like electric vehicles and that no amount of marketing will ever convince them otherwise. Gen-X men are currently leading the charge when it comes to EV adoption because they’ve got the money, and electric vehicles are still on the expensive side.

Two out of three Millennials would consider an electric vehicle, and they are fast approaching an age where they can afford it. Elder Millennials are now 40 to 45 years old, with an average median annual income of roughly $60,000. These days, it’s common sense to spend at most 10% of your monthly salary on a car, which in this case is $500. That will easily cover a lease or purchase of a Fiat 500e.

Then we get to Gen-Z. The younglings get a lot of flack for being woke and canceling stuff, but their car-buying habits are more closely aligned with Gen-X, about whom we have nothing bad to say (You don’t mess with a generation that was locked outside to play all day).

Gen-Z is more likely to test drive a car before they buy, and they’ll happily push a purchase back if they can’t afford it. And even though they’re the generation that grew up using ride-hailing services, they’re more inclined to buy a car before 21 than Millenials. Dodgy Uber drivers are likely the main driving force behind this, but they are a generation known for taking freedom seriously. And nothing gives you more personal freedom than your first car.

As you might have guessed, more than half of Gen-Z is open to the idea of an EV because of the environmental impact, long-term financial gains, and simply not wanting to pay for gas.

Customers’ wants and needs are constantly changing. I’m an Elder Millennial, and I grew up with a dad who loved Alfa Romeos and Mercedes-Benzes. Therefore, I am particularly fond of European V8s and the Busso V6. To me, sound matters.

Gen-Z grew up in the back of cars fitted with downsized turbocharged engines. To them, sound doesn’t matter as much. Yes, you do get exceptions. My seven-year-old loves fast, bombastic cars. My 10-year-old constantly monitors the speedometer and will lecture you on how speed kills if you go one mile per hour faster than the posted speed limit. His dream car is his mom’s Toyota Corolla because it has space for all his friends.

My point is that we must think about what happens after Gen-Z. They’ll grow up in an EV world without V8s and manual gearboxes. The cars we love now will be forgotten within two generations.

Will the Fiat 500e work the second time around? Well, the first one was a giant pile of dung, which already puts the (much) improved model in a favorable position. That’s a good start.

We also know that more people are moving to expanding urban areas. These people have a new set of needs, including a car that only needs to transport one person for 40 miles daily. We know from generational patterns that incoming buyers don’t have an issue with electric vehicles, even though there are still some harsh realities we still need to face.

I certainly hope it works, because fast, small cars are a riot. And even though all signs point to it being a success, life has taught me that humans are unpredictable at best.