Stellantis, Fiat CEO Olivier Francois: “The 500 will cancel the redundancy fund at Mirafiori”

TURIN - First hybrid 500 effect at Mirafiori . The work shifts at the Carrozzerie – where two thousand people work – of the historic factory should double, going from one to two. “The goal is to progressively eliminate the redundancy fund with the production increase in 2026”. The announcement was made at the presentation of the new model, which will be launched in November with the first deliveries in December, by Fiat CEO Olivier Francois, who is also head of marketing for Stellantis.

The “pragmatic” hybrid 500: price and production

For the occasion, the Italian-French group opened the doors of the plant to show the new lines from which both models come out, the electric one and the new hybrid. “With the new 500 – adds Francois – we will increase production at Mirafiori by at least 100 thousand vehicles”. Announced price: 17 thousand euros. “The goal is to already produce 5 thousand units in 2025 – explains the CEO of Fiat, who called it the “pragmatic” 500 – because we need to make them already this year”.

The impact on the supply chain is significant: “145 Italian companies are working on this car, 70 of which are in Piedmont. The weight on the supply chain is significant, the connection to Turin is strong . With this presentation and start of production we demonstrate that the Italian Plan can be done and we start from Mirafiori”. A connection also underlined by the first version, the Turin which will be yellow and blue in honor of the colors of the city. The engine is produced in Termoli , it is the one from the Panda and the gearbox is manual.

The Stellantis battery for the 500e

A phase two is already planned. “ In 2027 it will be the 70th anniversary of the 500. Do you know what we will do? We will go back to electric – Francois emphasizes – but with the right charge and a battery produced by Stellantis that will bring the cost of the 500e to around 20 thousand euros, even less”. And then there will also be a phase three. “The future generation of the 500 will always be in Mirafiori, we are designing it now, in our Style Center in Turin. It will be the most beautiful 500 ever, both electric and hybrid ”.