Fiat to go all‑electric by 2030

Olivier François, Fiat CEO and CMO of parent entity Stellantis, spoke in an online press conference before World Environment Day on Saturday 25^th June. He confirmed that from 2025 the range will start to become electric-only, a transition that kicked off with the launch of the new electric Fiat 500.

“We have an icon, the 500,” François said. “An icon always has its cause and the 500 is no exception: in the 1950s, it opened access to mobility for all. Nowadays, in this new scenario, it has a new mission – our mission – to create sustainable mobility for all. It is our duty to bring to market electric cars that cost no more than those with an internal combustion engine, as soon as we can, in line with the falling costs of batteries.”

As well as taking advantage of new, less expensive battery technology, Fiat has said that it needs to create “new financial products that can lower the barrier to entry”. Moreover, that there needs to be a broad commitment from “a wider range of stakeholders” to “increase the number of private charge points at apartment buildings”, adapt existing buildings and increase the number of fast charging stations.

The other big news from Fiat is the announcement to convert the rooftop test track on Fiat’s old Lingotto factory in Turin to “the largest hanging gardens in Europe”, with more than 28,000 plants. The five-story building was built in 1916, then the largest car factory in the world, and cars were built from the ground floor up before emerging onto the test track for testing. The building remains in place despite car production ending there in 1982, the facility now converted for other uses, but its mainstream claim to fame is featuring in the 1969 film The Italian Job.