Kenitra ready to produce Fiat’s Topolino electric quadricycle
After Opel, Fiat would consider rebadging the Citroën Ami in turn. Like the Ami and Rocks-e or the thermal Peugeot 208, Topolino would be produced in Morocco at the Kenitra plant.
Italian automaker Fiat is actively scrambling to get this lightweight herringbone electric quadricycle produced in Morocco as soon as possible. The Italian twin could take the name of Topolino and take advantage of a new discoverable variant. The name Topolino (“mouse” or Mickey Mouse in Italian), is in reference to the Fiat 500, the first of the name, produced between 1936 and 1955 and which bore this nickname. The very serious site Automotive News Europe, which announced the intention of the manufacturer Fiat of the Stellantis group to embark on the adventure of the electric mini-city car by producing its own version of the Citroën Ami, the Topolino will have the same characteristics of ‘Friend and the Rocks-e.
Its dimensions would be more or less equivalent (length of 2.41 m, width of 1.39 m for the Friend) and the electric motorization of 6 kW (8 hp) would also be taken over from the French. In addition, these performances also allow it to be considered in France as a car without a license and therefore driveable from the age of 14 with the road safety certificate. The Italian would however benefit from a small exclusivity, the presence of a convertible version. Neither Citroën nor Opel have such a variant. On the other hand, the Ami and Rocks-e are available in utilities, and the Italian could ignore this type of offer. As in the rest of the Fiat range, the open-air Topolino could adopt the Dolcevita suffix. The latter would be more chic, more refined than its twins. Suffice to say that the design of this new model should not represent a considerable industrial challenge, the presentation and the marketing should intervene fairly quickly, it is announced.
The Topolino will initially be marketed in Italy, where the Ami already is and its launch is scheduled for 2023. The car would have a slightly more refined finish than that of the Citroën Ami and the Rocks-e. Technically, it should not vary from its elders, with a power of 8 hp, a range like its sisters of 75 km and a maximum speed of 45 km/h in order to allow urban travel with minimum congestion when parking and a reduced cost for strict compliance with regulations. On the price side, the Topolino should align with the Friend and the Rocks-e and turn around 6,900 euros (launch price).
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