Fiat Panda set to return as one of two new EVs in 2023

Fiat will launch two new EVs this year, one of which is expected to be a small SUV badged as the Fiat Panda.

The two models will be part of the major EV push being made by Fiat parent company Stellantis. Its European EV portfolio will increase from 22 currently to 30 this year and 42 by the end of 2024.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares announced the two new Fiats in an earnings call detailing the company’s bumper 2022 profits.

Tavares didn’t reveal the identity of either model, but the one expected to be badged as the Panda is slated to be built alongside the new Jeep Avenger EV at Stellantis’s plant in Tychy, Poland, and use the same eCMP platform.

The Avenger will also be sold with internal combustion engines in select markets in southern Europe, meaning the new Panda could also be sold with a petrol option.

The second model could be the replacement for the defunct Punto supermini, which Fiat boss Oliver François discussed in an interview last year with Autocar as he outlined the Italian brand’s revival.

“There will be a big return in the B-segment and crossovers," he said. "We’re going back to the most relevant segments. We only have the Fiat 500X now. My objective is to have three."

In the UK, Fiat is almost completely reliant on the ageing 500 city car and new 500 EV after winding down sales of the Panda, 500X and Fiat Tipo.

Two new EVs would revitalise the brand across Europe after years of neglect by former owner Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Two more crossovers are also planned, François confirmed last year, with designs heavily influenced by the 2019 Centoventi concept.