Looking to build momentum for its latest – and now, all-electric – 500e, Fiat launches a special edition named for fashion legend Giorgio Armani. And it hints that it may bring a second new model to the U.S.: the Grande Panda crossover which debuted last month in both hybrid and all-electric form.
The 2025 Fiat 500e Giorgio Armani edition.
It’s a big year for Fiat, the Italian automaker celebrating its 125th birthday. But the special occasion carries with it some serious challenges, especially in the U.S. market where it continues struggling to carve out a profitable niche.
Right now, the centerpiece of the brand’s American presence – indeed, it’s only product line in the U.S. – is the new, all-electric Fiat 500e. The latest generation of the microcar made its debut in special edition form and it appears that strategy will continue to be used to try to attract those buyers who want something relatively unique. The next big package is named for fashion legend Giorgi Armani and, appropriately, gets Armani-styled colors, trim and other details.
But we may see the Fiat line-up start to grow again, the automaker giving serious consideration to bringing over the Panda line for the first time. More precisely, it’s studying whether there’s a potential market for the new Grande Panda which is set to be offered in both all-electric and hybrid forms.
Fiat 500e Giorgio Armani
The Armani signature shows up on the door card, dashboard, rear window and even the video screen.
As you might expect from a product bearing the Armani name – as well as his signature in several locations, including the dashboard – the 500e Giorgio Armani package is being positioned as a luxury package.
The exterior design is monochromatic, with no chrome or other traditional trimming details. Distinctive new wheels also bear the Armani logo.
The special edition gets LED headlamps as well as a glass roof. Inside, it boasts a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen, as well as a JBL audio system. The 500e Giorgio Armani adds wireless versions of both Apple Car and Android Auto, as well as standard navigation.
The cabin also features a two-spoke steering wheel, a unique shifter, and a dash-mounted “Bambox.” And, as you’d expect, the special edition’s cabin gets finished with Armani-style gets two-tone seats with yellow stitching. The inserts adopt “classic tailoring techniques” with three-dimensional patterns.
Powertrain
The Armani logo decorates the special edition’s monochromatic wheels.
The Fiat 500e Giorgio Armani edition features the same single-motor, all-electric drivetrain found in the rest of the microcar’s line-up. The front-mounted powerplant delivers 117 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque.
The 500e line, in general isn’t exactly a mileage champ, one of the challenges Fiat has in selling the micro-EV here in the U.S. It squeezes in a miniscule 42 kWh lithium battery pack which delivers a mere 149 miles range, according to the EPA.
Look for the 500e Giorgio Armani edition to arrive in U.S. showrooms by early in the 2025 calendar year.
More Fiat News
- Fiat Reveals an Array of Concepts That Could Seen Reach Showrooms
- First Drive: All-Electric Fiat 500e
- Fiat’s BETA Club is for Early Adopters
Grande Panda
Part of a new “family” of models, we could see the Fiat Grande Panda arrive in the U.S. in the next couple years.
The Panda badge has been a presence in the Fiat line-up for decades. Everywhere but in the U.S., that is. But that may finally change.
Actually, it would be the new Grande Panda Americans would see, based on hints Fiat has broadly dropped. The new model was first previewed last month and will be offered in several different configurations. That includes an all-electric model with an ever-so-slightly larger battery pack – at 44 kWh – than the 500e. In Europe, using the WLTP test cycle, it’s rated at 195 miles per charge. Using the EPA cycle, however, would likely bring that down by 20%, or somewhere just north of 150 miles.
As with the 500e, the electric version of Grande Panda is powered by a single electric motor making 111 hp. But there’s widespread speculation the motor drive and battery pack both could get upgrades to meet U.S. market expectations if it ever does cross the Atlantic.
There’ll also be a mild hybrid version and it’s expected to borrow a drivetrain currently used in the European Jeep Avenger: a 1.2-liter inline-three gas motor paired with a starter-generator system drawing power from a 48-volt lihium-ion pack. The combined package makes 99 hp which it pushes through a 6-speed dual-clutch transmission to the front wheels..
That’s the best the “leadership” can come up with??????????????