Stellantis to carry tiny Fiat automotive to U.S. following Trump remarks

DETROIT – Chrysler mother or father Stellantis on Monday introduced it’s going to supply an all-electric small “automotive” known as the Fiat Topolino within the U.S.

The automaker didn’t announce timing for the car, however Fiat CEO Olivier François confirmed plans to carry the car to the market, with “extra particulars to come back subsequent yr.”

Fiat’s announcement comes lower than per week after President Donald Trump praised small “Kei” automobiles from Japan throughout a gathering on the White Home with Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa and different U.S. lawmakers and automotive executives.

“They’re very small. They’re actually cute,” Trump stated in the course of the Wednesday assembly. “And I stated, ‘How would that do on this nation?’ And everybody appears to suppose ‘good,’ however you are not allowed to construct them.”

Trump stated he ordered U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to permit small autos just like the Kei “micro” automobiles to be constructed and pushed within the U.S. It isn’t essentially unlawful to provide such automobiles in America, however they’ve to satisfy American security requirements, velocity necessities and different rules.

A Stellantis spokeswoman stated Fiat’s announcement was unrelated to Trump’s feedback final week and that the automaker has been gauging buyer curiosity for the Topolino at U.S. occasions resembling auto exhibits.

The Topolino, which interprets to “little mouse” in Italian, is definitely categorized as “an all-electric quadricycle” somewhat than a automotive, in response to Stellantis. It has a prime velocity of roughly 28 miles per hour and driving vary of as much as 75 kilometers (lower than 50 miles) on a single cost. The car is produced in Morocco.

Small automobiles have traditionally not bought properly within the U.S.

The latest significant push to promote small automobiles within the U.S. occurred after the Nice Recession in 2009 underneath the Obama administration. Again then, Italian automaker Fiat was allowed to buy bankrupt automaker Chrysler, partially, to assist carry such autos to the U.S.

Fiat and its small 500 metropolis automotive reentered the U.S. market in 2011 amid Fiat’s takeover of Chrysler (each now owned by Stellantis).

In its first full yr in 2012, Fiat bought 43,772 autos within the U.S. These gross sales have since dwindled to roughly 1,500 Fiat autos bought final yr within the U.S.