- The Topolino will start at $13,995
- Customers will have to pay more to make it road legal.
- Air conditioning is courtesy of removing the doors.
The United States is about to have one of the cheapest electric vehicles ever offered for sale, as Stellantis Group has confirmed that the little Fiat Topolino will be available in the United States.
Starting at just $13,995 (plus a $990 destination fee), the compact electric vehicle features an equally tiny 5.4 kWh battery pack that offers just 46 miles of range on a full charge. There is also a clear lack of amenities.
Based on the Citroën Ami, the glorified golf cart is designed to offer a mobility solution for busy European cities, with the model classified as a light quadricycle (category L6e) which the law considers it more like a four-wheeled scooter or moped than a traditional passenger car.
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This allows drivers as young as 14 to get behind the wheel in some European countries, and lacking a stereo, air conditioning or infotainment screen (there’s a smartphone holder), the vehicles are as basic and easy to maintain as they come.
That said, micromobility options like this are on the rise in the US, where the golf cart craze seems to be sweeping the country.
According to a report from Today, residents in wealthy neighborhoods are using electric carts for everything from grocery shopping to dropping their kids off at school.
Golf cart maker Club Car says the market value has skyrocketed from $1 billion before the pandemic to more than $5 billion today.
Fiat hopes to cash in on this boom, with a range of stylish Topolinos that arguably have a little more character than your average golf course transport.
Analysis: Cute, but not really a car
Thanks to its restricted top speed, diminutive proportions, and limited crash safety features, the Fiat Topolino is not actually classified as a traditional “car” in North America.
In fact, if customers want to use it on public roads, they will have to pay for a special conversion kit to increase the top speed to 25 mph and make it legal on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less.
According to CNBC, Stellantis won’t charge extra for this, but a mandatory $990 destination fee will push the final price up to $14,985.
The incredibly cute car, which roughly translates to “little mouse” in its native Italian, will also go on sale in the UK, with prices starting at £8,995.
Numerous models and special editions have already been promoted, including a Sport edition that adds custom wheels, colors and badges.
Fiat also unveiled a Multiplina concept (see above) that takes the Topolino platform and stretches it to act as “the missing link between a Topolino and a car,” according to its maker.
It is unknown when we will go into production, but order books for the standard micromachine are now open in most markets.
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