The Fiat 600 is due in 2024, a small electric SUV running on technology shared with the Jeep Avenger

Fiat is preparing to add a second all-electric vehicle to its line-up and a new video has given us a clear view of it for the first time. The Fiat 600 will be an SUV counterpart for the popular new 500 city car, running on the Stellantis Group's e-CMP2 platform and due on sale in 2024. The car has been hinted at for some time with various spy shots surfacing, but now we can see it in the metal thanks to the video posted on Fiat's YouTube channel. 

The video reveals a small, 5-door SUV similar to the old 500X in terms of size and shape with the latest Fiat design language as seen on the 500 featuring – particularly in the front and rear lights. The Fiat 600 will benefit from borrowing the 500’s bespoke electric platform, meaning that the new car could boast interior space and practicality closer to the 500L MPV. The car will also be closely related to the new Avenger from Stellantis Group sister brand Jeep.    

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The new Fiat 600 uses the latest 500’s front-end design, but a stretched wheelbase should allow for a larger battery to give the bigger car a longer range. The 40kWh battery of the 500 city car provides it with a range of 199 miles, and while the 600 could arrive with this battery pack too, it may form the basis of a more affordable entry-level version. The Jeep Avenger's 54kWh battery gives it a 248-mile official range with 100kW charging speeds and we could see the same running gear in pricier versions of the Fiat. 

The new video also shows that the interior of the Fiat 600 will employ a similar rounded digital instrument cluster and central touch screen to those found in the Fiat 500 but adopt a slightly more mature design approach than in the retro-themed city car. A wide screen is mounted atop the dash with what looks like a row of physical buttons for the heating and ventilation system below. 

The new Fiat 600 will replace both the 500X SUV and the 500L MPV with a single electric model. Both of the larger 500 models have been moderate successes for Fiat, the 500X recording consistent sales numbers since launch in 2014, while the larger 500L MPV did return strong figures at launch in 2012, before tailing off as part of the wider decline of the European MPV market. It was axed by Fiat in November 2022. 

With the internal combustion powered 500X nearing the end of its life, the time is right for Fiat to revolutionise its crossover line-up with an electric model. Speaking with Auto Express in May 2020, Fiat boss Olivier François hinted that the new model may be an amalgamation of both the L and X concepts. 

“The L is a particularly good body, high on wheels, to add batteries,” he said. “Family transportation is a good candidate for electrification, too, because it involves a lot of city driving, a lot of stop and go, school and work runs. But at the same time, it’s not a Utility Vehicle, a UV; it’s an MPV, and this type of car is a little less in fashion now.

“We need to think of the next generation with the same approach to the consumer that makes a lot of sense in an all-electric version, with a body that is obviously more relevant and in fashion. We’re thinking maybe a blend of the X and L is the way ahead, at the end of the day. But it is not for the near future – and when I say near, I mean not by the end of this year [2020], for sure.”

Now read our full in-depth review of the Fiat 500…

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