Fiat has introduced a petrol-engined variant of its new 600 crossover, undercutting the electric Fiat 600e by £9205.
Priced from £23,965, the new 600 Hybrid undercuts the EV by over £9000 - although Fiat presently will slash £3000 off the price of any of its EVs with its 'e-grant'.
Previously, Fiat had stated that it would offer only the 600e in the UK, but it has since backtracked on that decision.
Orders for the petrol model will be taken from later this week.
The 600 is driven by a Puretech 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine through a six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
It's fitted with a 48V mild-hybrid system comprising a 29bhp electric motor and a 1kWh battery to boost fuel economy. It also provides up to 0.6 miles of electric-only driving at speeds of of 30mph.
The 134bhp system is said to result in CO2 emissions of 110-114g/km in the 600. Fuel economy of around 52-55mpg is expected.
This powertrain is sourced from Fiat parent firm Stellantis and shared with the Jeep Avenger and Peugeot 3008.
Two specifications will be offered, with entry-level cars simply badged Hybrid and upper ones badged La Prima. These get more equipment and a starting price of £26,695 - around £10,000 cheaper than the range-topping 600e.
It also means that every model that sits on Stellantis's CMP platform – the Avenger, Citroën C4, DS 3, Peugeot 208, Peugeot 2008, Vauxhall Corsa and Vauxhall Mokka – is now available with a choice of hybrid or electric power.
Fiat’s move to introduce a 600 hybrid means its electrification strategy has adapted but the brand said it was still” no less committed”.
It also means the entire Fiat model range – the Fiat 500, Fiat Panda and Fiat Tipo – is available with an electrified powertrain.
At the international launch of the 600e in Italy last year, Gaetano Thorel, senior vice-president of Fiat Europe, said: “While we commit to leading the transition to electric with the 600e, we're also a socially relevant brand. So we commit to giving people what they need now - which may be electrified, rather than electric. And in the UK, we still only sell one electric car in every five.”
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Fiat UK MD, Damien Dally was quoted as saying,
"What we’ve done is adapted our strategy because clearly the adoption of electrification in the UK – and it’s not specific to the UK, by the way – is really, really slow. And there seems [to be] nothing coming from the government to accelerate that"
He wants the UK gov to implement incentives for EV's, using our money to subside the over pricing of EV's from manufacturers such as Fiat, which is part of the Stellantis Group, a group whose brands are some of the most expensive in their relevant classes (near 40k Corsas). Their dealers also charge some of the highest interest rates for finance deals as well, and many charge admin fees for used/nearly new purchases.
No issue with subsidies being used to incentivise sales, but manufacturers have to do their part, as in stop ripping off potential customers, subsidies should not be used to prop up their profits.
The Fiat MD can't really comment on the speed of EV adoption, they have exactly zero ground up BEV's in their range and only an adapted ICE 500 BEV, which will always have limited sales. Sorry but Fiat hold no sway in this sector.
Mild-hybrid... otherwise known as hybrid only by name.