By Ryan Felton
The storied Italian car brand Fiat is preparing to offer Americans an outside-the-box solution to rising new vehicle prices — with some notable concessions.
Fiat, long the top-selling global brand of automaker Stellantis, said Tuesday that it has begun U.S. sales of a two-seat, fully-electric compact car called the Topolino, which translates to "little mouse" in Italian.
It is, indeed, very little. The Topolino weighs a little more than 1,000 pounds, and at about 8 feet in length, the tiny vehicle is roughly as long as the former Smart cars previously sold in America. Drivers even have the option of jettisoning doors for a rope to enclose them and a roll-up soft-top roof, if they choose.
Unlike the Smart car, you won't be seeing the Topolino on the highway. The microcar can max out at 25 miles an hour, putting it in competition with a class of low-speed vehicles and upscale golf carts sold in the U.S. that don't have to meet the crashworthiness standards in place for typical passenger vehicles. The Topolino has no air-conditioning system and is expected to drive up to 46 miles on a full charge.
But Fiat thinks this is where it can find a niche, even in a country where big pickups and SUVs rule the road.
"We don't do big cars, we don't do expensive cars, we don't do luxury cars, we don't do premium," said Olivier Francois, Fiat's chief executive, in an interview. "We do small."
Fiat is positioning the Topolino as an alternative option for a growing cohort of motorists considering a low-speed vehicle, such as a golf cart, for daily commuting. The brand notes that many golf-cart owners buy those vehicles today for use outside of a course, suggesting there is demand for additional options.
With a price tag starting at $13,995, before fees, the Topolino — also the name of Mickey Mouse in Italian — represents the latest gambit from automakers looking to branch out and sell Americans on a smaller and more specialized type of vehicle.
Slate Auto, a new Michigan startup, is set to begin production later this year on a $25,000 all-electric pickup truck that can be converted with a do-it-yourself kit into a five-seat sport-utility vehicle. Next year, Ford Motor is also set to debut a small electric pickup starting at around $30,000.
The Topolino will surely be a head-scratcher to some consumers. And Francois acknowledges there is a limited audience that might be receptive to the vehicle. He says Fiat has the flexibility to experiment in the U.S. thanks to its stature around the globe.
Fiat's history dates back to the early 20th century. It returned to the U.S. market in 2011, following a nearly 30-year absence. The brand hasn't exactly taken off here, thanks in part to a historically small lineup of compact vehicles; it currently only sells an electric version of its 500 subcompact in the U.S. In 2025, Fiat represented far less than 1% of Stellantis's total sales in the U.S.
But in countries like Brazil, for example, roughly one in four vehicles sold are Fiats, Francois said. Stellantis recently named Fiat one of the company's four key brands that, going forward, will receive 70% of the company's global product investments under a new business strategy.
Rather than go bigger, Fiat is curious to see what Americans think of something much, much smaller, like the Topolino — about 3 feet shorter than the all-electric 500e.
Federal regulators paved the way for small, low-speed vehicles to be sold in America more than two decades ago, and the cars have since gained steam in beach towns, resorts and hospitality businesses, industry executives say.
Under current regulations, such vehicles can only travel 20 to 25 mph and aren't required to have doors or air bags, and they don't need to meet crashworthiness tests. But they must have certain safety equipment, including seat belts, headlamps, turn signals and rearview mirrors.
Josh Towbin, owner of Towbin Auto Group in Nevada, which sells Fiat and other Stellantis brands, said he recently drove a Topolino to a car event in the city of Summerlin. The show primarily featured vehicles from exotic brands, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini.
The Topolino immediately hooked the crowd, with onlookers angling to snap photos. "Which vehicle under $20,000 creates a crowd?" Towbin said of his competition. "Zero."
Towbin said he has deposits from customers for nearly every Topolino at or en route to his store.
So far, car reviewers have been split over the Topolino's chances of catching on. After Fiat brought the Topolino to last year's annual auto show in Los Angeles, the magazine Motor Trend wrote, "It feels like a perfect fit for beach towns, resorts, and narrow downtown streets." Car and Driver, meanwhile, described the Topolino as "more like the Birkin bag of golf carts than any sort of useful commuter."
Yet Francois says that he currently drives his own little mouse around Miami, where he lives, and has been surprised by the response from passersby.
"It puts a smile on everyone's face," he said. "I get more thumbs-up than with any other car that I've had in my entire life."
Write to Ryan Felton at ryan.felton@wsj.com