Fiat 500 Hybrid

Fiat performs the unprecedented and converts an EV to petrol power. Is it any good? The very existence of the new Fiat 500 Hybrid is tantamount to the Italian giant breaking the emergency glass.Having finally discontinued the petrol 500 in August 2024, it had expected the new-shape, electric 500e to pick up the mantle.What happened instead was an utter collapse in sales, as buyers defected to petrol alternatives such as the Kia Picanto or something larger.That forced the Mirafiori plant – Fiat’s crown jewel, in its home town of Turin – to idle for months, building precisely zero cars and furloughing workers while dealers cleared their surplus of 500es.With the power of hindsight, Fiat Europe boss Gaetano Thorel calls the electric-only move “suicide”.To right the ship, Fiat opted to perform the unprecedented and convert a bespoke EV to ICE power. That meant both 500 variants could be built on the same production line, giving Mirafiori the shot in the arm it desperately needed.