5 Panda concepts preview Fiat's plans | GRR
Fiat has confirmed it will continue to sell ICE, hybrid and electric cars "to ensure maximum relevance to customers wherever they live in the world" by revealing a family of Panda concepts that give us an idea of what those cars could look like. The line-up includes the City Car, Pick-Up, Fastback, SUV and Camper.
The first new car – we're assuming the long-overdue Panda hatchback – will be revealed in July, and Fiat will launch a new car every year until 2027. Each car will reap the rewards of its parent company's Stellantis platforms but with added Italian brio.
The cars will be roomy for their size and built using as many sustainable materials as possible. Redundant parts will be removed, and polluting materials such as chrome, alloys, leather, and the foams in seats are out the window, and the company will have a renewed focus on aerodynamics, crucial to efficiency. The cars will use a transverse layout and share up to 80 per cent of parts.
The first concept in pink, known as the City Car, likely previews the new Panda hatchback. The "Mega Panda", as Fiat calls it, is bigger than the Panda we know and love, doubtless as the company aims to improve the car's appalling one-star NCAP safety rating.
Inspired by Fiat's Lingotto factory the new Panda hatchback will focus on squeezing as much space as possible from a relatively small footprint. Inside, the squircles you’d expect to find in a Panda will make way for oval shapes inspired by the famous oval test track on Lingotto’s building's roof. Sustainable materials like recycled plastics and bamboo will line the interior.
Clever features like a retractable charging cable that winds up like the plug on the vacuum will make the Panda easier to live with every day while also being a clear hint that the car will be electrified.
A less likely home for the Panda name tag (but one you knew was coming) is the blue Panda SUV or the "Giga-Panda", which, as you can imagine, is a bigger, more upright and much roomier member of the line-up that should be ideal for families.
The lime-green Pick-Up is the third concept and is likely to be reserved for the South American market, where the Strada pick-up is currently the best-selling Fiat in Brazil, while the fourth concept, the bronze Fastback, is another car that's unlikely to come to the UK.
Finally, the turquoise Camper mirrors the boxy shape and pet-like lovability of the original 1980s Panda, but with five doors, chunky tyres and a roof box.
Olivier Francois, FIAT CEO and Stellantis Global CMO, said: "FIAT is a global brand with 1.3 million cars sold last year and solid leadership in many parts of the world. We are in a global game, and our next step will be to transition from local products to a global offer that can benefit all of our customers everywhere in the world.
"We are excited to share this glimpse into our future; a very near future actually, since the first car will be presented in four months during the brand's 125th anniversary celebration. That car will then be followed by one new model every year."
We’ll have more news on the new cars when we have it.