Electric Abarths Are Failing So Badly Stellantis Might Bring Back Gas

Slumping sales and customer complaints push the scorpion brand to rethink its electric future

Car Talk, Autos Nov 27, 2025 0 1 Add to Reading List

Electric Abarths Are Failing So Badly Stellantis Might Bring Back Gas

Abarth may return to petrol hot hatches after its EV-only switch.
Fans dislike EVs since they can’t modify or tune them anymore.
Bosses confirm they’re “trying” to build a new combustion Abarth.

Abarth might be ready to crank up the noise again. After ditching gasoline cars entirely in Europe and going all-electric with the 500e and 600e, the scorpion brand is now considering a return to old-school combustion hot hatches.

Why? Because fans aren’t impressed with electric motors, no matter how quick they are.

The Case for Combustion

Abarth’s European boss, Gaetano Thorel, told Autocar that customers want internal combustion, not just for the performance but because modifying EVs is basically impossible. Owners can’t meddle, tweak, chip, tune or bolt on shiny bits under the bonnet. For diehard Abarthisti, that’s all part of the fun.

The sales numbers back up the discontent. Abarth has shifted just 273 cars in the UK so far this year, compared to 954 by the same point last year and a huge drop from the 5,631 sold back in 2018, according to SMMT data.

What’s the Plan?

The scorpion is really feeling the sting, so the brand is exploring the possibility of a new petrol-powered Abarth based on the new Fiat 500 Hybrid.

You might recall this is the electric 500e reverse-engineered to take a combustion engine because Fiat had axed the old ICE 500, but the EV turned out to be a sales flop. Are you sensing a pattern here?

In theory, the platform can take more power. In practice, things get complicated quickly. For starters, the 500 Hybrid’s 1.0-litre naturally aspirated triple produces a feeble 64 hp (65 PS) and takes 16.2 seconds to hit 62 mph – 17.3 seconds if you choose the Cabrio body.

Thorel admits the engine doesn’t have the character Abarth needs either, delivering torque low down rather than encouraging high-rev mischief.

Platform Headaches

The bigger problem? The platform wasn’t designed for engines at all. The 500e uses a tiny electric motor, leaving very little room for something stronger, and even less room for cooling it. Squeezing in a bigger combustion unit without triggering Italian electrical chaos sounds like a packaging nightmare.

Review: The Abarth 500e Is An Electric Hot Hatch That’s Big On Fun, Even Bigger On Price

Then there’s the business case. The thought of developing a bespoke petrol Abarth for a niche audience would make Stellantis accountants sweat like brake pads on the Stelvio Pass. But despite these headaches, Thorel told Autocar that the brand is “trying.”

If Abarth does resurrect petrol power for Europe (it’s still available in Latin America in the Abarth Pulse), it won’t just reshape the 500. It could open the door for a combustion 600 Abarth or even future models with actual engine noise rather than synthesized fizz.