Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares has announced that Fiat will build a hybrid edition of the 500 at the Mirafiori plant in Italy. The move comes after months of disputes between the automaker and local union representatives that led the automaker to ramp up production in the country.
Fiat’s Mirafiori plant is already handling production of the all-electric 500e, but a slowdown in the expansion of electric vehicle sales has forced the automaker to slow the pace of production. Extended leave periods for plant personnel also had to be introduced.
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The announcement could also help ease simmering tensions between Stellantis and the Italian government. Last week, the Italian government confiscated 134 Fiat Topolino at the port of Livorno because they had a small Italian flag on the bodywork, while the small electric vehicle was made in Morocco. The incident came just weeks after Alfa Romeo changed the name of its new SUV from Milano to Junior due to a dispute with Italian government officials.
Stellantis also revealed that it will begin building a hybrid edition of the Jeep Compass at its Melfi plant in Italy.
“These announcements complement recent announcements about a new generation of batteries to make the iconic Fiat 500e even more attractive to consumers and the commercial extension of the hybrid Fiat Panda in Pomigliano,” the company said in a statement. The models will definitely contribute to the workload of the Termoli plant and the Mirafiori e-DCT transmission plants in the coming years. “
Stellantis intends to increase production in Italy to 1 million aircraft per year until 2030. He added that this is a generational renewal of its workforce, which was born with the hiring of young personnel at the Mirafiori site.
Speaking with Reuters, FIM-Cisl union leader Ferdinando Uliano said Tavares had told him production of the hybrid 500 would start in the first quarter of 2026.