We first asked Hatfield where she thought fleet business for the Grande Panda would come from?
She said: “For Fiat in the UK, traditionally we’ve been quite small A-segment vehicles, which hasn’t historically been the heartland of the fleet market – especially in the user chooser, salary sacrifice area, where I think initially, we will get the interest from.
“Grande Panda is now in the B-segment, and therefore instantly opens more opportunity for us. With the SUV styling as well, it’s leaning into the vehicles that have done well over the last couple of years.
“In terms of the mix, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a richer mix of the BEV version potentially. Maybe more around the 40% mark. I guess time will tell, I think anything between 20 and 40 we’d be happy with. As a brand, and from a ZEV mandate point of view, because all Stellantis brands are grouped together, we’ve got a bit of flexibility to make our contribution to the group.
“In Q1 of this year we sold out of the last 500 ICE, so our overall share is a bit down on where we’d ideally like to be. Grande Panda will help us to grow our share again.”
Hatfield believes the main difference between the 500 and the Grande Panda is the space and practicality.
She said: “500 is obviously an icon for the brand, there’s lots of nostalgia around it, but we’ve got to be realistic, it’s not the most practical solution for everybody – even if Fiat was a brand they were drawn to.
“Grande Panda will definitely open up Fiat to new customers of the brand. There are probably customers of Fiat in the past, when we had some different, larger product, and in the past few years, some of those products have ceased being sold in the UK. Now it’s bringing something back to those customers as well.
“The styling of the 500 is iconic, but not modern and retro, in the same way the Grande Panda is. The design cues for these vehicles are different but feel part of the Fiat family. It is going to appeal to a more masculine audience as well, over the 500 being perhaps quite feminine.”
Hatfield believes that in terms of spec, the Grande Panda will be more of a top spec mix.
She said: “Our estimate is that 65-70% of our sales will be the La Prima version because for its price point it is very well specified. The Red will be more like 30% of the mix.
“I think the Grande Panda will be included in fleet, where we’ve not been before. Our fleet colleagues want to offer Fiat as a product, and they’ve been asked a lot of questions since the launch of the Grande Panda, about the new car and the rest of the range. We’ve had a car out at events, and the fleet team certainly feel they’re getting a lot more enquires about the brand.
“Our customers are very familiar with Stellantis B-segment products already, and I think it will be quite easy for them to consider moving across into a Fiat potentially or having Fiat as part of their overall mix.”
When we asked about the ordering procedure, Hatfield was keen to tell us that Fiat has already generated an impressive 3,000+ hand raisers for the Grande Panda.
She said: “We’re just finalising our systems to open for orders and obviously our initial focus will be on those who have expressed an interest in the car. They will be the first to experience and drive it.
“Our expectation is that we will have both the EV and Hybrid versions in the UK in late summer with first customer deliveries being in the Autumn. If somebody places a fresh order, you’re looking at a September build, plus a five-week delivery to the UK from the factory.
“Both the EV and Hybrid versions will go on sale at the same time. It’s not far away!”
