Fiat wants to launch a new popular car under €15,000: "it's our top priority". – ItalPassion
For several years, Fiat seemed to be moving away from what made its DNA: offering simple, popular and accessible cars. At the 2026 Brussels Motor Show, Fiat’s CEO Olivier François, interviewed by Auto Infos, put it bluntly: Fiat had become too expensive. And the company’s number-one priority is now clear: to bring the price of a new car below the symbolic 15,000 euro mark.
Olivier François’ frankness came as a surprise. A public acknowledgement that the prices charged in recent years were no longer in keeping with Fiat’s image is no mean feat. During the Stellantis era, the move upmarket imposed on several brands caused Fiat to lose its historic role as a popular carmaker. The result: rising prices (remember the Fiat 600, offered only in electric version at over €30,000), and a gradual drop in volumes in Europe. The figures speak for themselves. According to our informationBy 2025, excluding South American countries, the brand has shrunk by -58 %.
Fiat’s first response was immediate: to return entry-level versions to its current range. The Fiat 500 thus returned in a light-hybrid version, priced at around 19,400 euros, well below the 100 % electric version hitherto imposed. The Fiat Grande Panda has followed suit with a manual gearbox version starting at 16,900 euros, while the Fiat 600 will also welcome a cheaper non-hybrid petrol engine in the spring. These adjustments are a first step, but they don’t fully address the central problem: today, the only model really close to 15,000 euros remains the Fiat Panda, a vehicle whose design dates back to 2011. Despite its age, it continues to dominate the Italian market, proving that the demand for a simple, affordable car is still very real.
This is precisely what Fiat wants to capitalize on. Olivier François asserts: the first priority is to replace the current Panda with a smaller, simpler and much less expensive model, in the spirit of the 1980 Panda. This future city car will be positioned below the Grande Panda and will target a base price of less than 15,000 euros. The major change, however, comes in the technical discourse. Where Fiat was only recently talking about exclusively electric renewals for the Panda and 500, the brand boss is now talking about a “multi-energy offer”.
The question of the platform remains open. Long associated with STLA Small, this future Panda could finally be based on an architecture dedicated to the A segment, referred to as STLA City. The challenge is immense: contain costs, integrate modern technologies, while complying with safety standards and environmental constraints. This is where the idea of an efficient hybrid powertrain comes into its own. A modern, well-equipped Fiat Panda hybrid, priced at under 15,000 euros, would be a welcome addition to a market where new city cars often exceed 20,000 euros.
This renaissance also involves a new industrial logic. Fiat now relies on global models, produced in several regions and adapted locally. The Grande Panda, for example, will be manufactured in South America, in Brazil, where it will be marketed under the Argo name, while also being produced in the Africa-Middle East zone. This pooling is intended to generate the economies of scale needed to meet price targets. In the longer term, Fiat is even considering a return to the MPV, heir to the Idea and Multipla, as well as the arrival in Europe of a Brazilian pick-up derived from the Strada, currently an absolute bestseller in Brazil.
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