The design is vintage, the electric drive contemporary: The New 500 is Fiat’s farewell to the dogma that small cars must have an internal combustion engine. Our author Christoph M. Schwarzer considers the new Cinquecento far ahead of the electric car competition.

Fiat will reduce the production of the all-electric Fiat 500 at its Mirafiori plant in Turin from 300 to 210 units per day as of next week because the manufacturer is having difficulties with battery supplies.

FCA Italy and Engie EPS have been awarded a contract by Italian grid operator Terna to manage 25 megawatts of electricity. This should provide ultra-fast frequency control services to Terna via a planned vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system at FCA’s Mirafiori headquarters site.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has teamed up with energy platform Kaluza to develop smarter charging services for its customers. The first stage of development will see a new charging service offered to Fiat 500 EV customers, using the Kaluza platform.

Fiat has introduced a new version of its electric 500 – the Fiat 500 3+1, which is characterised by an additional door on the passenger side, hinged in the opposite direction. The Italian carmaker has now revealed the prices for the basic version.

The planned merger of the car companies PSA and FCA under the name Stellantis will apparently be able to rely on three electric car platforms. In addition to the existing platforms eCMP and eVMP, according to a new report from Italy, a base developed by FCA will also trade for larger electric cars.

The planned merger of the car companies PSA and FCA under the name Stellantis has apparently already led to a decision about sharing vehicle platforms: According to an article in the Spanish media, FCA is abandoning its developments for B-segment vehicles.

Digital Charging Solutions (DCS) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) have developed a joint public charging service. My Easy Charge gives customers of the FCA Group’s BEV and PHEV models access to over 130,000 charging points in 21 European countries.

As the first limited version ‘La Prima’ of the Fiat 500 electric car is now no longer available as a convertible, now, pre-orders for the more affordable hatchback version are starting.

Buyers in the UK may now put an order in for the first 500 of Fiat’s extra compact electric car 500e. Prices for the limited ‘La Prima’ edition come in below the 30k threshold after government subsidies.

According to CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato, a few weeks ago Peugeot decided to keep making its small car model 108, and the executive added that Peugeot could then offer the 108 as a pure electric car – possibly with the technology of the new Fiat 500.

Fiat has just premiered the battery-electric 500, which is simply called the “new” 500. The differences to the previously sold combustion engine go beyond the drive system and the price for the small electric car is relatively high.

Fiat Chrysler has completed the production lines for the electric version of the Fiat 500 at its Mirafiori plant in Turin and has started production of the pre-series. Production of the hybrid version of the Maserati Ghibli has also started.

Fiat Chrysler intends to test vehicle-to-grid technology with a fleet of 600 to 700 electric cars. The carmaker has now signed a letter of intent with the Italian energy supplier Terna.

Fiat Chrysler is investing a total of 700 million euros in a production line for the electric version of the Fiat 500, according to media reports citing an unnamed top manager of the company.

With the all-electric Concept Centoventi in Geneva, Fiat previews the next generation of their Panda model. With a unique modular battery set-up, the range can be extended from 100 km to up to 500 km, and FCA also promised a new take on electrifying the Fiat 500.

Fiat Chrysler has released an investment plan, which details a sum of more than five billion euros to be invested in their Italian production facilities by 2021. The plan is to make them fit for electric car making.

The era of Sergio Marchionne is nearing its end, but before the head of Fiat-Chrysler quits his job next year, he wants to ready all brands for an electrified future. His 5-year plan calls for a move away from diesel and into electric and hybrid models.

E-Bus Berlin is a new project in Germany’s capital. Four electric buses will serve on route 204 and will be charged via three Primove inductive charging stations. The installation of the first wireless charging platform is under way. Next month, two more stations will follow as well as four stations with cables at the depot. The four Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses will begin transporting passengers this summer.
rbb-online.de, moz.de, idw-online.de (articles in German)

In Maastricht too, a VDL Citea Electric bus has begun its service on line 4. This pilot is part of the Zero Emission Bus transport (ZEB) foundation’s project to electrify Dutch public transport.
vdlparts.com

For a cloud free Sunshine State: Florida Senate Bill 864 would exempt EVs from Florida’s sales tax. If accepted, the exemption would become effective by July 1st and would also be applicable to FCVs.
cleantechnica.com

Kiwi-green charging: New Zealand’s Electricity Networks Association (ENA) will kick off an initiative that could see the installation of a network of charging stations across the country. A study looking at the viability of the so-called ‘Renewables Highway’ is scheduled for July.
guide2.co.nz

Almost 100 electric Fiat 500e were sold in California last week. The rush was due to a leasing offer of roughly 83 dollars per month that resulted in group buys by motorsports enthusiasts and instructors. For those of you in California, the deal is going on.
greencarreports.com, transportevolved.com

Charging depot: Six fast-charging stations have been installed at the “Bellevue” Nissan dealership outside Seattle, forming a depot. The charge points will be operated by NRG eVgo and can be accessed via the usual EZ-Charge card.
businesswire.com