Fiat has once again extended the total halt in production of the electric 500e. The same has happened for Maserati.
It's been less than a month since Fiat announced that it would once again stop production of the electric 500 – called the 500e. And now the Italians are doing it again.
The same thing is happening at Maserati. Both brands are stopping their assembly lines on December 18th. And now the news is that both assembly lines will not start rolling again until January 20th, 2025 at the earliest.
Reuters writes.
According to Stellantis, the extended production stoppage is due to the group 'reviewing its order books.' But beyond that, the European-American car group does not want to comment on what is happening.
But something is afoot. Earlier this year, it emerged that the brand will start production of hybrid-powered 500 models. Read more about it here .
At the same time, it became clear that Fiat's management must explain to the Italian government why it cannot sell electric cars.
However, the small city car is not the only model to be affected by the temporary closure of the Mirafiori factories. The same is true for the Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio.
Here in Denmark, Fiat importer KW Bruun, now called Wismo, sold 851 units of the 500 model between January 1 and November 30 this year. But it's in the US that things are really going badly.
Despite several special models – and a hope that it would be enough to kickstart sales of the cars – fewer than 500 new Fiat 500s have been sold in the entire United States this year.
The Italians are already having a hard time in the US. It was the Americans who once said that Fiat stood for 'fix it again, Tony'. Because of the brand's many quality problems.
What Fiat actually stands for is Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino. Or in English – a factory in Italy that builds cars in Turin.
