ROME, Italy – The 2020 version of the now venerable Fiat 500 has had its institutional debut at the Palazzo del Quirinale where the battery buggy was shown to Italian president Sergio Mattarella then to Palazzo Chigi, to be shown to Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte.
The little car is the third generation of the 500 since its then rather startling debut in the 1960’s, that will be ”the sustainable mobility of tomorrow”. (Until the necessary battery materials run out, anyway – Ed).
The New 500 BEV (battery electric vehicle) was created, designed and engineered in Turin, Italy, and claims to be ”truly made at Fiat” in the city where Fiat was founded more than 120 years earlier.
”By the end of 2021,” the automaker says, ”the infrastructure will be able to interconnect up to 700 electric vehicles to ultra-fast charging services.
Overall, Fiat says, the plan will involve a transformation of the Italian automotive industry with a view to a low-emissions future driven by increasingly connected hybrid and electric vehicles.
”With the 2007 second generation,” the Italians said, ”the Fiat 500 became an exemplar of Italian fashion and style. Now, at a time when mobility is expected to be more sustainable, connected and autonomous, the third generation of the Fiat 500 is at the fore and bringing with it design and driving pleasure, along with its symbolic values – exceptional styling and strong character.”
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Just as in the 1960s this 500 is said to be channeling positivity and a new dimension to the sustainability to electric urban mobility.
