Fiat Planning Many More Variations of 500, Including One for Men

FiatFiatItaly, 1899 > present159 models
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has made the decision to focus on the 500Fiat 500 (modern)Italy, 2007 > present240 versions
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model range and PandaFiat Panda Gen.3Italy, 2011 > present24 versions
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in the future. Its plan is to copy MiniMINI (BMW)Germany, 2000 > present15 models
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and have a huge number of 500 variants on sale. The PuntoFiat Grande Punto - Punto Evo Gen.3Italy, 2012 > present31 versions
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is being kept on life support for the small sales that it offers for the time being and will likely be slowly phased out in favor of a Panda-branded replacement.

The future of the 500 is multiple models. Not just the 500Fiat 500 1.4 TurboUnited States of America, 2012 > present6 photos
and 500LFiat 500L 1.4 MultiAir Tu...Italy, 2014 > present available now but also a crossover, a seven-seater and more.

“We have an opportunity to present a family of cars that can work throughout a person’s life — from a young lady in her 20s through to a family with an active lifestyle and children,” said Fiat lead designer Lorenzo Ramaciotti.

Ramaciotti even plans a 500 focused on male buyers, which has been a weakness of the range until now.

“It’s true that, to date, the car is more for women with the Abarth appealing more to men, but in future we believe we can change that,” he said.

Ramaciotti says that consumer surveys indicate that people do not want the face of the 500 to change, and so that portion of the car will remain the same. But the interiors and technology will get an overhaul in the future.

“The 500 has the power to enchant, and we believe we can keep the same cheekiness, cuteness and curviness of that car in many different forms,” he said.

The Punto will be kept around for now but will slowly be phased out. Fiat has delayed a replacement for the car twice because of worsening financial results. It is much cheaper to keep building it, instead of replacing it with a new car.

When the car is finally replaced, it will be sold as part of the expanding Panda range

“At present, the only valid reason for having the Punto is market share. To produce an all-new car when you can’t be sure you’ll get the revenues back is a very tough decision to make,” said Ramaciotti.

Source: Autocar (1,2)