New Fiat 500 Hybrid set to finally arrive, and it’ll be a manual!

The latest Fiat 500 arrived back in 2020 as a pure-electric model to be sold alongside the mild hybrid-powered edition of the previous generation. However, that older 500 Hybrid has now gone off sale in the UK, and it will be replaced by an all-new model due later this year. 

We say ‘all-new’, but the forthcoming 500 Hybrid will look very similar to the old one – and indeed the electric 500e, too. We know this because Fiat has just shared images of the first pre-production units rolling out of its Mirafiori plant in Turin - ahead of a November launch. 

The name ‘Hybrid’ also looks set to change to ‘Ibrida’ (Italian for ‘hybrid’) – a move shared with fellow Stellantis brand Alfa Romeo with its new mild-hybrid Junior Ibrida. 

The 500 Ibrida will probably use the same mild-hybrid technology that Fiat’s parent company Stellantis has been installing in numerous models recently, including the Fiat 600 compact SUV, Peugeot 208 and Vauxhall Corsa. 

While those cars use a turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine paired with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with an integrated electric motor, Fiat’s images clearly show a six-speed manual gearbox, just like the old 500 Hybrid. They also reveal the Ibrida will use a 10.25-inch touchscreen, though it has a different dash layout to the current 500e. 

Being a mild-hybrid, we expect the 500 Ibrida will be able to cover short distances on pure-electric power – in low-speed city traffic, for example – with the e-motor helping during accelerating. However, there will be no need to plug the car in to charge it.

Fiat’s launch of the 500 Ibrida hasn’t looked simple from the outside. The time taken for engineers to shoehorn the hybrid powertrain into the Fiat 500e’s chassis is the most likely explanation for the car’s relatively late launch. The 500e sits on a different platform to the 600 and the other cars that are available with this mild-hybrid system. The 500 is also much more compact (3,632mm long) than those other cars, which is likely to create some challenges.

The news that Fiat has managed to fit a six-speed manual transmission to the Ibrida isn’t expected to have knock-on effects for Abarth and a possible replacement for the 595 hot hatch. Abarth’s European boss, Gaetano Thorel Thorel, revealed to us last year that Abarth would not make a hot version of the new Fiat 500 Ibrida - claiming that the engine, rather than the availability of a manual gearbox was to blame. “The new 500 hybrid that will be built in Mirafiori [in Italy] next year, its engine is, I would say, a micro hybrid engine, so nothing spectacular.”

Fiat is also making a 100 million Euro investment in the 500e that includes redesigning its platform. To what extent hasn’t been revealed, but the modifications are meant to allow for a new generation of battery, which will make the 500e more affordable and more attractive to potential customers.

Subscribe to the UK's favourite car magazine: get Auto Express delivered every week...