Micro-mobility is Back, Reimagined by Fiat!
If you follow me on the socials - EV Newt - you’ll likely know I’m a fan of the cheap, weird, wonderful and utterly silly small cars. I have a Citroen Ami after all and I have had a Renault Twizzy, too, plus every mad French thing you care to mention. And I still lament selling my iMeV. Yes, I probably do need help!
So you’ll forgive me for being rather excited by the upcoming batch of the mad and wonderful micro cars from Citroen and, maybe more surprisingly, Fiat! And here’s why you should be too!
Fiat and Citroen are leaning hard into heritage and micromobility right now. Hot off the heels of the 2CV teaser (this is a very big want for me) from FIAT is the The Multiplina Concept, a four-seat electric quadricycle that revives the spirit of the original 1950s Fiat 600 Multipla in a modern, tiny, EV package. It’s positioned as the bigger brother to the already-on-sale Topolino (the Fiat-badged Citroën Ami) and not to be confused with the frog-eyed Fiat Multipla from the late 1990’s (ahem, as implied from another on-line well-known ‘surprised’ publication).
FIAT Multiplina Concept
The original Fiat 600 Multipla that was produced from 1958 paved the way for modern day MPVs. This 3.5 meter monobox design featured a 2+2 seating arrangement with a large cargo area, or a 2+2+2 seating arrangement housing up to 6 adults in “comfort”.
But with 24 hp, it was a little short on power and 6 adults may have been a challenge on some big hills in Italy. Regardless, this little multi-person bug of a car now has a cult following, and FIAT seems to want to tap into that enthusiasm, and classic design language. And look how utterly wonderful it was!
Fiat 600 Multipla, circa 1958
Both the Multiplina Concept and 600 Multipla are a far cry from the controversially styled 1998–2010 Multipla MPV with it’s six-seat, 3+3 layout and bug-eyed stare (though we’ll always have a soft spot for that car).
The 90’s Multipla took to the 6 occupancy element within a short footprint, this time at 4 meters. The Multipla was able to add two rows of three chairs by making the car wider, but it missed the styling by a wide margin and was not a pretty site on the roads. This was at a time when MPV’s were at their height, and the likes of Vauxhall were offering a full 7-seater for a little more money.
The Multiplina Concept is a tiny, electrified nod to the 1950s original, one of the first proper multi-purpose vehicles! And here’s a few reasons why I think this works well:
• Classification: Electric quadricycle (higher-spec than the Topolino/Ami — this one does proper speed).
• Top speed: ~55 mph (almost double the Topolino’s ~28 mph).
• Seating: Four proper seats in a space-efficient layout.
• Range & battery: “Extended range” claimed within the quadricycle class (Topolino manages ~46 miles from a tiny 5.5 kWh pack). Exact figures still under wraps — expect modest real-world numbers, especially in UK winter.
• Price & timing: Estimated from around £11,000. On sale ~2028.
• Positioning: Part of Fiat’s micromobility push alongside the Topolino and TRIS (a three-wheeler thing). Shown in recent Stellantis/Fiat presentations.
It also looks fun, as are the Citroen Ami and its non-identical twin, the FIAT Topolino. It has a purpose at home in a busy town or city, and at that price point it is genuinely brilliant and extremely useful.
At 55mph the Multiplina Concept has to be safer than the Ami-which has no airbags or any safety features other than seatbelts. So the Multiplina Concept should at least be fitted with airbags and some side impact protection, especially if customers are going to be putting children in it.
For Londoners, it will be ULEZ-compliant, incredibly cheap to run especially if you can charge at home or work, and with a tiny footprint parking should be a doddle, but it will have potentially lower insurance.
Don’t expect DC charging, but it should at least get a Type 2 plug, and given the size of the battery, it won’t take too long to charge on an AC charger, or even a 3-pin plug socket.
And it it’s priced around £11k it undercuts a lot of new small EVs and even some used ones, too.
But, is it better than a cheap used Fiat 500e or a small used fossil car? For pure city-only use with occasional extra passengers, maybe. For anything else? You’ll probably want something with proper range, speed, and safety. As a second car or as a ‘fun’ vehicle I can see it filling a need and I’d prefer one over the Ami, as there’s a chance that Tesla-The-Dog might actually get in this if it has a proper seat and not the Ami’s Ikea kitchen stools for seats.
This Isn’t Happening in Fiat’s ecosphere. The Multiplina is the cute headline-grabber sure, but Fiat (under Stellantis) is teasing a broader spread of small, affordable, heritage-flavoured vehicles:
FIAT’s small car challengers
FIAT Family of Small Electric Cars
• Grizzly (and Sportback/Fastback versions): Compact SUV/crossover on the Smart Car platform. ICE, mild-hybrid, and full EV options expected. More “normal car” territory for UK families. 2026–2030 timeframe.
• Pandina, and this I’m super excited for: Affordable next-gen electric city car. Grande Panda being, well, very grande, this promises to be worth of the Panda name, with the same geometric design language, built in Italy. Targeting that €15k-ish sweet spot.
• Evolutions of the Grande Panda (already happening — EV version with 320 km claimed range) and 500 family.
Fiat is trying to cover the bases: ultra-cheap micromobility halo cars (Topolino → Multiplina) for dense urban cores, then slightly more sensible small cars and a compact SUV. Smart segmentation or just spreading bets while they wait for proper affordable EV platforms to mature? A bit of both, probably.
There’s Also the Fiat TRIS (the “Ape” Equivalent) an electric three-wheeler sort of ‘pickup’ that directly channels the spirit (and market) of the classic Piaggio Ape (the iconic Italian three-wheeled light commercial vehicle). There are also fun variants like the TRIS Dolcevita (hospitality/leisure-focused, more lifestyle-oriented).
FIAT Tris
Piaggio itself has a full line of Ape E-City electric three-wheelers (swappable batteries in some markets, 8–10+ kWh packs, 100–200+ km claimed ranges depending on variant), but the Fiat TRIS is Stellantis/Fiat’s own take.
While we’re talking Fiat’s quirky revival game, we can’t ignore their Stellantis stablemate Citroën bringing back the legendary 2CV as an affordable electric city car.
Citroen 2CV Reimagined
The 2CV is what I’m most excited for. So far we only have this one official teaser photo of it from Citroen. But it’s teased for a proper concept reveal at Paris later this year and on sale around 2028, the new 2CV is aiming for the £13-15k sweet spot with retro charm updated for EV reality.
Simple, rugged, and accessible-just like the original and hopefully will hold on to some of that charm and not just be a reshaped eC3, but be an ‘actual, proper car’ rather than a big quadricycle.
The Multiplina, the Tris and this reborn 2CV could make for some brilliant (and very different) budget urban options on UK roads.
Which would you choose? Let us know in the comments!
Author
Newt is a lifelong car enthusiast and specialist in electric cars.
You can find Newt on𝕏 at @eV_Newt
