With the launch of the new Fiat Grande Panda in Europe, Stellantis and Fiat have kept their word about making cheap EVs available. In honor of Fiat’s 125th birthday, the small electric car (EV) will cost less than €25,000, which is about $27,260 in today’s money. While Fiat is back in the world market, it’s not likely that the newest Panda will come to the United States. But the Grande Panda could give Stellantis a chance to sell a Jeep EV in the US for less than $25,000 price tag. There are a lot of people who don’t believe Stellantis when they say they can get a new car on the market in the US for less than $25,000. This website is one of them. At the moment, only the Citroën Ñ-C3 and the Grande Panda use the new Smart Car Platform. But Stellantis plans to add five more cars to its electric vehicle platform, making the total seven. Any of those cars could be rebranded as a Jeep EV, which would make Tesla and Stellantis’ other “low-cost” EVs less competitive in the US market. Since the Jeep Renegade is basically a Fiat 500X with a different name, there is a history of a Fiat in the US wearing a Jeep badge. Still, since the Renegade isn’t sold in the US anymore, a small crossover, preferably an electric one, might come back to the Jeep fleet. The Jeep brand name and the new Fiat Panda 4×4 have some historical ties. The Fiat Panda 4×4 is known for being a tough, small off-road car. Jeep may use this history as an excuse to “protect” the company by not making an all-electric Wrangler. Stellantis says that the Grande is the first design of a new line of Fiats that is “being studied for global markets, including North America.” In Europe, the Panda will come in two different types: an electric car and a hybrid car. Reuters says the hybrid will cost less than €19,000, which is about $20,700. This makes it even cheaper than the EV. There will be an 83-kW motor and a 44-kWh battery in the Grande Panda EV. The European WLTP cycle says that the battery pack gives the EV an expected range of more than 320 kilometers (199 miles). However, when the EPA does not test the EV, the range drops; still, Americans would like to see a Jeep EV that costs less than $25,000 and looks as cool as the Grande Panda. This would make Jeep a strong competitor to the Chevy Bolt’s upcoming return.
