AUTONEWS

Fiat Grande Panda with manual transmission by the end of the year

Fiat's goal remains to produce around 300,000 Grande Pandas each year. The car from Kragujevac has been very well received in Europe, but production in Šumadija cannot keep up with demand. This especially applies to the hybrid version, which, if you order today, you will not receive before November or December. The problem is with the supply of components, and most of all with the gearboxes for the Fiat Grande Panda hybrid.

By the end of 2025, the Turin-based manufacturer, as confirmed by the brand's CEO Olivier Francois, will launch a new variant equipped with a manual transmission on the market. Although no additional details are known at the moment, the only thing Francois seems to have admitted is that this upcoming version will not have an available hybrid powertrain. The manufacturer's will could therefore be linked to the need to increase sales of the Grande Panda model, offering a basic variant with an attractive price. Hence the desire to move away from hybrids and focus on manual transmissions, which are becoming less common today, but are still appreciated by many.

Which engine will the Italians opt for? It is unlikely that Fiat will choose the 1.0-liter gasoline engine with 71 hp that will be under the hood of the new Fiat 500 hybrid. The small hybrid will also arrive by the end of the year, with a manual transmission. All bets should be on the 1.2-liter turbo with 100 hp, the same one that is already used on the new Citroen C3 in the initial version equipped with a very interesting starting price and, of course, a manual transmission. This means that there will also be changes in the cabin of the Grande Panda, namely that the compact car will get a “central tunnel” to accommodate the gearbox.

Since it is a global model, Fiat’s goal remains to produce around 300,000 Grande Pandas each year. And, this means that the car will not be assembled only in Kragujevac, but in several other factories around the world. If the promises are fulfilled, we can expect the base Grande Panda with a three-cylinder gasoline engine (100 hp) and manual transmission to cost less than 15 thousand euros. That is the price of the new Citroen C3 with the same engine (14,990 euros), which, unlike the “big panda”, we can already see in good numbers on Serbian streets.

Also, Italian media write that the Grande Panda with a LPG system is being considered.

Autonews