Stellantis, owner of the Fiat brand among others, is expected to announce today a hybrid version of the 500e small electric car to be produced at its Mirafiori plant in Italy.

This was said by two sources familiar with the matter, confirming what was anticipated by Automotive News Europe.

The announcement is expected during a planned meeting in Turin between CEO Carlos Tavares and unions, which have called for a new model to revive production at Mirafiori.

The 500e is assembled at Fiat's historic Turin site, but slowing sales of all-electric vehicles globally has prompted Stellantis to significantly slow production rates, introducing long layoff periods for workers at the plant.

The move could also help the automaker improve relations with the government, which has often criticized the group for declining production in Italy and for producing some Fiat and Alfa Romeo models abroad.

Stellantis, Italy's only major automaker, and the government are discussing a plan to restore the group's production in the country to one million vehicles by the end of the decade, up from about 750,000 last year.

Enterprise and Made in Italy Minister Adolfo Urso said Saturday that an agreement was expected within a few days, with the announcement of new models for Stellantis' Italian plants.

This morning, Automotive News Europe wrote that production of the new 500e hybrid could begin no earlier than the end of 2025. It added that Stellantis is aiming for a total annual production of 200,000 vehicles of the 500 model at Mirafiori, including 125,000 hybrids, up from less than 80,000 produced last year.

The 500e hybrid will be based on the same platform as the 500e EV, while Fiat is phasing out the old version of the 500, both gasoline and hybrid, which was assembled in Poland.

(Translated by Camilla Borri, editing Claudia Cristoferi)