Existing Fiat 500 range to be rebranded

Fiat has confirmed that the existing 500 model will be rebranded Classic as the all-new, all-electric 500 goes on sale in the UK later this year.

Speaking to Auto Express, president of Fiat Olivier Francois has said that 500s with internal combustion engines will wear the Classic tag. “Yes, it will be known as the Classic,” said Francois. “It will be very interesting to see the shift.

“Our hope is to convince as many customers of the combustion engine to go electric, so we will carefully look at who the customers are and our ability to shift traditional 500 lovers to electric.

“We know these are urban customers and that sooner or later they will go electric. We think they are so in love with the brand within a brand that they will have the temptation to go and check out the new electric 500.”

Francois and his team have worked hard to give the new 500 a more traditional feel than some of its electric rivals, so not to scare off potential buyers the first time they experience the car.

“We invested some time and energy in the five first minutes,” he said. “Thinking about the traditional combustion customer and the way they’re going to feel when they get in the new car.

“Some electric cars are a little bit scary as customers are out of their comfort zone – so we wanted the traditional customer to not be out of their comfort zone. So for example, with the one pedal mode, which is so great, but is not the default set up – the default set-up is two pedals. I also wanted the buttons to be in a normal place.”

However, the Fiat badge will not be in the normal place, with Francois confirming that the 500 logo will sit front on centre on all 500s in the future, with Fiat only appearing on the back.

“The 500 family will have 500 in the grille, “What I call the ‘functional family’ will have the Fiat logo in the front and you will see that starting with Tipo – so we will reaffirm the existence of two pillars.”

An all-new Panda range – exclusively revealed by Auto Express – is set to join the recently revamped Tipo in this more functional part of the Fiat family, according to Francois.

The new electric 500 goes on sale in December with prices starting from £19,995 after the Plug-In Car Grant, with first deliveries set for March 2021.