First Stellantis EV in the US draws strong interest from dealers
Jeep, RAM, Dodge, and Fiat owner Stellantis is launching its first passenger electric vehicles in the US this year. The first to roll out, the Fiat 500e, is already drawing in new dealers ahead of deliveries.
After unveiling the new Fiat 500e for North America at the LA Auto Show last year, the first models are expected to begin rolling out soon.
Fiat’s new EV will be the brand’s sole vehicle after it retired the 500X following the 2023MY. The brand is introducing new versions via “drops.”
The Fiat 500e RED was the first to drop last month. With a 42 kWh battery pack, the electric car has up to 149 miles range. It features red-painted mirrors, LED headlamps, and front grille. The Fiat 500e can add 31 miles of range in five minutes with 85 kW fast charging, or 80% in 35 minutes.
Inside, the Fiat 500e features a red dashboard, a 10.25″ center touch screen with Uconnect, a 7″ driver display, and added storage.
The Fiat 500e is the lightest passenger EV in its segment at just over 3,000 lbs. It’s also one of the cheapest, starting at $34,095 (including destination). Stellantis said the Fiat 500e is positioned to take advantage of tax rebates in participating states.
After dropping the Fiat 500e last month, Stellantis said its first EV in the US sold out of its initial dealer allocation in under a week.
Stellantis first EV draws interest from US dealers
According to Fiat North America leader, Aamir Ahmed, dealers are now reaching out about the electric car.
“We’ve had multiple handfuls of dealers in California reach out to us looking to add lines of Fiat into their dealerships,” Ahmed told Automotive News. However, Fiat’s leader only wants to add to the “right place at the right operators.”
Ahmed explained the brand isn’t looking to “grow just to grow,” and dealers are seeing strong enough demand to support the 500e relaunch in the US.
The brand looks to expand in the US with its new Fiat Live Store, offering a digital buying experience. Shoppers can connect with an Apple-like Fiat “Genius” to answer questions or ease concerns.
“If we can simplify the buying experience so that they don’t have to have cars sitting in the showrooms, they don’t have to have people just talking to a customer that wants to come in and kick the tires [but] isn’t necessarily ready to shop. We can have our Fiat concierge do that with them,” Ahmed said.
The move is to save overhead because “we want them to be as profitable as possible,” Fiat’s North American leader explained.
Fiat dropped two new 500e models this week, the “Inspired by Music” and “Inspired by Beauty” editions.
Both models will feature unique content like a JBL audio system and eye-catching Rose Gold coloring. The new editions will start at $37,595 (including destination).
Stellantis has a big year planned, with several brands debuting new EVs. Jeep is launching the Wagoneer S and rugged Recon. Dodge unveiled the Charger Daytona EV last week, retaining its title as the “world’s quickest and most powerful muscle car.”
The new EVs will help Stellentis work towards its goal of 50% electric sales share in the US by 2030.
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First Solar just cut the ribbon on a huge new factory in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, and it dwarfs the New Orleans Superdome. The company’s $1.1 billion, fully vertically integrated facility spans 2.4 million square feet, or about 11 times the size of the stadium’s main arena.
The factory began production quietly in July, a few months ahead of schedule, and employs more than 700 people. First Solar expects that number to hit 826 by the end of the year. Once it’s fully online, the site will add 3.5 GW of annual manufacturing capacity. That brings the company’s total US footprint to 14 GW in 2026 and 17.7 GW in 2027, when its newly announced South Carolina plant is anticipated to come online.
The Louisiana plant produces First Solar’s Series 7 modules using US-made materials — glass from Illinois and Ohio, and steel from Mississippi, which is fabricated into backrails in Louisiana.
The new factory leans heavily on AI, from computer vision that spots defects on the line to deep learning tools that help technicians make real‑time adjustments.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry says the investment is already a win for the region, bringing in “hundreds of good-paying jobs and new opportunities for Louisiana workers and businesses.” A new economic impact analysis from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette projects that the factory will boost Iberia Parish’s GDP by 4.4% in its first full year at capacity. The average manufacturing compensation package comes in at around $90,000, more than triple the parish’s per capita income.
First Solar CEO Mark Widmar framed the new facility as a major step for US clean energy manufacturing: “By competitively producing energy technology in America with American materials, while creating American jobs, we’re demonstrating that US reindustrialization isn’t just a thesis, it’s an operating reality.”
This site joins what’s already the largest solar manufacturing and R&D footprint in the Western Hemisphere: three factories in Ohio, one in Alabama, and R&D centers in Ohio and California. Just last week, First Solar announced a new production line in Gaffney, South Carolina, to onshore more Series 6 module work. By the end of 2026, the company expects to directly employ more than 5,500 people across the US.
Read more: First Solar pours $330M into a new South Carolina solar factory
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No, it’s not the new Bolt. GM’s design team previewed a new high-riding “sporty Chevrolet EV” that should be brought to life.
Is Chevy launching a new sporty EV?
This is the all-electric vehicle Chevy should sell in the US. General Motors’ design team released a series of sketches previewing a sporty new Chevy EV.
Although it kinda looks like the new 2027 Chevy Bolt EV as a higher-sitting compact crossover SUV, the design offers a fresh take on what it should have looked like.
The new Bolt is essentially a modernized version of the outgoing EUV model with a similar compact crossover silhouette. Nissan adopted a similar style with the new 2026 LEAF as buyers continue shifting from smaller sedans and hatchbacks to crossovers and SUVs.
Will we see the sporty Chevy EV in real life? It’s not likely. For one, the “exploration sketch” is by GM China Advanced designer Charles Huang.
GM Design posted the sketches on its global social media page, but the caption read “Sporty Chevrolet EV for the China Market.”
It’s too bad. The Bolt could use a sporty sibling like an SS variant. Chevy introduced the Blazer EV SS (check out our review) for the 2026 model year, its fastest “SS” model yet. Packing up to 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, the Chevy Blazer SS can race from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds when using Wide Open Watts (WOW) mode.
Will the Bolt be next? I wouldn’t get my hopes up. And if GM does bring the sporty Chevy EV to life, it will likely only be sold in China. Like all the fun cars these days.
What do you think of the design? Would you buy one of these in the US? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
While deliveries of the 2027 Bolt are set to begin in early 2026, Chevy is offering some sweet deals on its current EV lineup, including up to $4,000 off in Customer Cash and 0% APR financing for 60 months.
Ready to test drive one? You can use our links below to find Chevy Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado EVs at a dealership near you.
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Environment
Podcast: Electricity is the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss electricity becoming the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, the new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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