Production of Europe’s oldest new car will cease this year. After 17 years and over 3,000,000 units sold, the order books for the third generation Fiat 500 are finally closed.

After production of the Fiat 500 in retro design was discontinued in North America in 2019, it is now also being discontinued in Europe, including the United Kingdom.

The Fiat 500 will be replaced by the Fiat 500 Ibrida next year.

Essentially a body and interior design “hat” on the cheaper, more utilitarian Panda, the cheeky little Fiat gave Fiat an instant sales and image boost when it was launched in 2007.

An interesting parallel is that the original Fiat 500 also had a long production run: its production began in 1957 and lasted 18 years, ending in 1975 after 3.89 million units sold.

More than three million units of the current 3.5-meter-long car have been sold and it did not even need a facelift until 2016.

It arrived late in North America in 2011 and peaked at 46,999 sales in 2012. It was discontinued in the U.S. after recording only 340 sales in 2022.

While the 2007 model was launched with a four-cylinder petrol engine, it was later also equipped with a two-cylinder TwinPower engine and, more recently, with hybrid drive.

The newer EV version of the Fiat 500e, which debuted in Europe in 2020, continues to sell.

The upcoming 500 Ibrida (Italian for “hybrid”) will essentially be a revamped 500e, combining the 1.0-liter engine of the current 500 gasoline model with electric power.

The 500 Ibrida will be a rebirth of the 500 in a different way, as production will be moved from Poland to the Mirafiori plant in Turin, where it will share a common production line with the 500e.

Fiat admits that the 500 (in Italian “Cinquecento”) stock will last until early 2025. Production of the venerable Panda will also cease this year to make way for the 2025 Grande Panda in Europe, which will also be available with electric and hybrid powertrains.