Second sub-€25.000 EV from Stellantis will be new Fiat Panda

Car manufacturing group Stellantis has announced that it plans to launch a second EV next year, costing less than € 25 000 in the standard version. The first to be announced was the Citroën ëC3, which should arrive on the market in the Spring of next year.

The second lower-priced EV from Stellantis will be produced by its Fiat Brand and be launched under the Panda name; since the beginning, the Fiat product standing for functionality and affordability.

More affordable models

The ëC3 and the Panda-e (exact name not known yet) will have to compete with the Dacia Spring and VW ID.2, although there are several Chinese manufacturers wanting to launch EVs in this particular price bracket.

The new Panda will be launched in July next year (Fiat’s 125th birthday) and will also offer ICE engines. That way, it wants to compete with, for example, the Dacia Sandero, one of the best-sellers in Europe, especially for individual buyers, at prices around € 13 000.

But an electric version will also be immediately available, and there is no doubt that it will share its platform with its brother from Citroën, the ë3. The latter will be produced in Slovakia, and the Panda will probably stay in Italy.

For reference, the Citroen model will reportedly be available in a basic variant with a 60 kW motor and a 40 kWh battery pack and a premium variant with an 80 kW motor and a 50 kWh battery pack. The 50 kWh battery pack could deliver a WLTP range of up to 400 km.

Centoventi Concept

We don’t know yet what the new Panda will look like, but we remember the Centoventi Concept Fiat showed us way back in 2019 (in Geneva), hinting at the possibility that this would be the next Panda.

“We have room to make another B-segment car (alongside the electric Fiat 600e] more in the ‘essential’ category,” says Fiat CEO Olivier François. It will sit at around four meters in length and have a “simply clever approach, a little bit like the Panda used to be”.

François noted that the car would need to cater to “global markets”, such as Latin America, where the majority of its 1,2 million cars were sold last year, as well as the Middle East and Asia. This nods to the car sitting on the same CMP platform from Stellantis, given it can be fitted with electric or combustion powertrains.

“We need something that is 100% following the European tastes but really can be global,” said Francois. “And this is why I said there may be space for something else, other than the 600e, which is very, very European, in the B-segment.”

“So, that one (the 600e) is joyful, a little bit retro, but the other one would be closer to what you think,” he added when answering questions about the production model based on the Centoventi Concept. Some parts of the concept will not make it to production, Francois confirmed to Autocar, such as swappable batteries. “It was something that sounded reachable” when the concept was originally unveiled,” François explained.

The size and position of the car were also confirmed by Stellantis Group boss Carlos Tavares in February. He told reporters then: “There will be a big return in the B-segment and crossovers. We’re going back to the most relevant segments. We only have the Fiat 500X now. My objective is to have three.” In the meantime, the 600e has come, so that would leave space for a third, the new Panda, also available in fully electric form.