Italy’s beloved Fiat Panda, the best-selling model in the country and Fiat’s most popular model in the rest of Europe will morph into several new segments for global markets, Stellantis revealed today.
The Panda nameplate, synonymous with fun, compact, and frugal city cars in Europe is on track to expand into an entire family of pure electric, hybrid, and gas-powered models. These powertrains will go into a new City Car, SUV, camper, pick-up truck, and sporty fastback.
Fiat CEO and Stellantis Global CMO Olivier Francois indicated that the brand would showcase these concepts at the upcoming 2024 Geneva International Auto Show which begins on February 27, 2024, in the mountainous Swiss town. He said, “Fiat is working on a bigger and a better future. A future that is rooted in its Italian past, tradition, fun, sustainability, and social relevance.”
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The Fiat Panda is Italy’s best-selling car.
The Panda is extremely popular in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. And Fiat wants to bank on its success with a new range of pure electric, hybrid, and gas-powered Pandas that will take several shapes and sizes and ride on a brand-new “multi-energy” platform. However, no mention of a U.S. launch for now.
Stellantis revealed last year that it would introduce seven new affordable models on a new multi-energy low-cost Smart Car platform, different from STLA platforms. The Citroen e-C3 rides on this platform, which has been designed specially to democratize new-generation and affordable EVs and fend off the brutal onslaught of Chinese rivals.
“We are in the global game, and the next step will be to raise that global game with a set of new models,” Francois said. “[The new models will] conquer the streets, and complete our line-up in Europe, South America, Middle-East and Africa,” he added. The first model will likely be the immediate Panda successor, a slightly larger city car with a radical new design.
The design language would be based on Fiat’s birthplace, the Lingotto building in Turin, and its famous rooftop test track. And that means “oval shapes everywhere.” Additionally, all models would feature abundant recycled plastics, and fabrics made from bamboo, so that “ethics and aesthetics,” go hand in hand.
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The City Car concept would feature what Fiat calls a self-winding charging cable to make plugging and unplugging easier. In the video, the cable pops out from the hood, connects to the charger, and seemingly retracts automatically. Other exterior design highlights include light steel wheels, pixel headlight modules, and the new four-stripes Fiat logo.
Fiat will also introduce a successor to the Strada truck, which is apparently the best-selling vehicle in Brazil. The concept seems to be a modern take on the traditional truck, with a modular bed and roof. In one frame, its pixel headlight modules come off and get mounted on the roof as adventure lights.
Other models include an “XXL sized” camper, a family-oriented roomy SUV, and a sporty fastback with a sloping roofline focused on performance. Francois said that Fiat will reveal the first production car in July 2024, with one model launching each year thereafter till 2027. Curiously, there was no mention of any of these models arriving in the U.S., not even the pick-up truck.
Europe, South America, and the Middle East seem to be the main markets for the Panda’s electric and hybrid offspring. “In Geneva, you will see many dream cars and concepts. But what I have just shown you is no dream. It’s reality,” he said.
