Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has recently detailed an interesting new business plan and a rather odd announcement during a conference in Washington D.C.
It involves the Fiat 500e electric car and, instead of trying to pitch it as an efficient alternative to the standard city car, he’s actually asking prospective customers not to buy it.
“If you are considering buying a 500e I hope you don’t buy it, because every time I sell one it costs me $14,000,” said Marchionne.
That equates to approximately RM45,000 per car, which may leave you wondering why Fiat bothers to make the 500e EV at all at first place, even if the benefits include 111bhp and up to 160km range on a single charge.
“I’m honest enough to tell you that I’ll make the car, I’ll make it available, which is my requirement. I’ll sell the limit of what I’m required to sell and not one more,” Marchionne continued.
It is part of California’s zero emissions policy for vehicles, as well as federal fuel efficiency expectations, which has left Fiat no alternative if it wishes to continue trading in the West Coast state.
Fortunately for Marchionne, these rules mean Fiat only has to sell the 500e in California at the moment, although with governments around the world increasingly looking to cut the car’s impact, there may be a few more EV issues for the Italian brand before long.
Source: Autoexpress
