Automobile company Fiat already produces the New 500 electric model, which was purchased by around 120,000 customers in the first 2.5 years of sales. Last year, it became the best-selling electric car in Italy and was also on the podium in Spain and Germany. It’s quite an achievement, but for example Tesla sells so many Model 3/Y in a single month, but it is in more markets (we’ll see how the launch of the New 500 in the US mixes it up). The problem here is the price. The electric 500, like its combustion version, is today a style car and not a popular vehicle. So, for example, in our country it starts at a price of CZK 740,000, and only 16 of them were sold in our country last year. But Fiat is also preparing a more popular electric car.
He presented a picture of an electric microcar Fiat Topolino, which follows on from the legendary folk “mouse”, which was produced between 1935 and 1955. The novelty is an electric four-wheeler and, according to the manufacturer, should once again bring smiles, optimism and joy to cities. Only time will tell if it will be successful.
Many claim that if electromobility needs anything, it is a small electric car for the city. For now, however, it appears that customers have quite a problem with this, because while electric cars have reached price parity (or come very close to it) in the higher classes, the differences are usually still huge in the lower ones. After all, the price of the electric New 500 starts at 72% higher than that of its internal combustion sister. A small two-seater stroller that “everyone would buy” is often presented as a solution. We’ll see if that happens in Topolino’s case. If you look carefully, the shape of the car will probably remind you of something. It is a bodywork of an existing Citroen Ami electric car.
The basic Citroen Ami is a 2.41 meter long car, it is 1.39 meters wide and 1.52 meters high. It has an electric motor with a power of 6 kW, a maximum speed of 45 km/h (legislatively, it is a quad bike, not a car), a range of 75 km, it weighs 471 kg, including the battery. In other words, what many claim should be produced and what gives electromobility meaning, what they would buy themselves. While 10 years ago something like this could not be produced cheaply, today batteries are considerably more affordable, so Ami is not even expensive. In Italy, it costs from EUR 6,025 (142,000 CZK) after the government subsidy of EUR 3,000, i.e. from 213,000 CZK without it, in Britain it is more expensive at 8,095 pounds (222,000 CZK). Of course, if it should have, for example, a range of 200 km, it would add a few thousand euros.
But did this car put Europe on electric feet? In the first two years, only 23,000 of them were sold, despite the relatively decent price (on the other hand, it is only sold in France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Great Britain, Turkey and Morocco, i.e. those markets where you could expect the greatest interest). However, it is true that the Ami is a very ugly car by design, while the new Topolino is considerably more cheerful. The question remains what pricing policy Fiat will set.
2023-06-03 09:30:21
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