Fiat Is Reintroducing the Tiny 500 to America Via… the Metaverse?

Let’s be honest. Fiat hasn’t had many successful moments since it re-launched in the U.S. market last decade. While the Fiat 500 was a cute retro city car, the automaker ultimatedly failed to appeal to the masses when the market shifted towards SUVs. The Jeep-based 500X and the awkwardly van-like 500L didn’t succeed in North America, with the latter being discontinued along with the two-door 500 and, later, the Mazda-based 124 Spider. That leaves only the weak-selling 500X in Fiat’s barren U.S. showrooms. At least, until the smaller 500 makes its comeback next year as an all-electric hatchback.

Announced back in November, the 2024 Fiat 500e is altogether more substantial and stylish than the gas- and electric 500s that were pulled from our market a few years ago. It can’t arrive soon enough, either, as electrified vehicles are rapidly gaining market share. But Fiat CEO Olivier Francois said that because the 500e will not be sold on price, “people will line up to buy this.” Well, first Fiat needs to sell those customers on the idea. Though we enjoyed our drive in the new 500e, which is available now in Europe, by the time it arrives here folks will have gone quite a while likely never thinking of Fiat at all.

Fiat has come up with a digital marketing plan to solve that knowledge gap. Potential customers will be able to use a smartphone, tablet, or computer to access Fiat’s Metaverse Store, “a simple, immersive, human-driven brand experience,” to customize your new 500e, according to Fiat. While we’re tech geeks, “simple” isn’t a word we’d use to describe the metaverse, whose entire reason for being remains vaguely unclear to most people, but maybe Fiat has found a way to do so. Oh, and don’t worry about virtual reality headsets—those are not required to “enter” the store.

Fiat’s goal with its new metaverse thing is to “reinvent the customer journey by creating an alternative car shopping experience,” and the automaker has partnered with Microsoft and Touchcast to make it possible. In the metaverse, customers will be able to research, configure and purchase the New 500 La Prima by Bocelli, a 500e with a JBL sound system tuned by the Maestro Andrea Bocelli.

But there’s one small problem with the metaverse plan: While most folks still don’t really know what use there is for the metaverse, limiting the potential exposure for the 500e—Fiat’s use of the ‘verse is extra pointless. That’s because, while Fiat has already launched its Metaverse Store in Italy, it hopes to open the North American site in the first quarter of 2024. Yes, next year. Remember, the real-life, not-meta 2024 Fiat 500e will launch in America at the end of this year.

Even when online, it remains to be seen whether the Fiat Metaverse Store will be a success in North America, but the Italian automaker is trying its best to move as many 500es as possible. Although prices have not been announced, Francois said that “the car will be expensive.” That’s a tough sell given the 500e is, remember, still quite small; it also is only expected to have about 150 miles of range, which is well below average among today’s EVs, regardless of size. Fiat might need more than the metaverse to move these things…