04:27 15-01-2026

FIAT CEO floats 117 km/h cap to curb ADAS costs for city cars

FIAT CEO Olivier François has floated a radical way to make city cars more affordable: cap their top speed at 117 km/h. He suggested this could serve as an alternative to the mandatory installation of costly advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), which noticeably inflate the price of small models.

François noted that many of these driver aids are aimed primarily at high-speed safety, whereas the FIAT 500, Panda and Grande Panda are used mostly in urban settings. He added that because cars now have to be equipped with sensors and cameras, the average price of city runabouts in Europe has climbed by roughly 60% over the past five to six years. For drivers who spend most of their time in traffic and short hops, a 117 km/h ceiling feels far less restrictive than the budgets these features steadily erode.

The FIAT boss also backed the idea of a new European M1E category intended to encourage affordable urban electric cars. In his view, easing requirements for what he considers superfluous ADAS could help bring back lower-cost vehicles for everyday use. If that door opens, straightforward, purpose-built city cars may finally get the breathing room the market has been missing.