[Auto] Future Fiat Punto (2022): a Peugeot 208-based comeback?

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The expected merger between the PSA and FCA groups could soon revive the Fiat Punto, several years after its disappearance from the catalog.

Future Fiat Punto (2022) - The queen of the 90s is dead, long live the queen! After the slow agony experienced by the last generation of Punto, who disappeared in 2018, the Italian city car is about to return to the front of the stage. An unexpected comeback made possible by the imminent merger between its parent company (FCA) and the French group PSA. If all goes well

In the automotive industry, you have to know how to separate yourself from certain models when it turns sour. This was for example the case of the Peugeot RCZ coupe, in the mid-2010s, when the health of the Lion was still fragile. Or the Citroën C5, not renewed due to the decline of sedan sedans. A fate that will soon hit the Renault Scenic and Espace minivans.

 

 

Punto, the forgotten of the 2010

 

But when it comes to Fiat, we never understood why the third generation of Punto had no immediate descendants. Sergio Marchionne, formerly head of the transalpine manufacturer, before his death in 2018, preferred to bet almost exclusively on the 500 family, from the end of the 2000s. 13 years after its launch, the Punto bowed out at the same time as the boss of the Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, after many restylings having kept it under artificial respiration. A curious strategic choice, while the Punto still enjoyed a good love rating in its segment, just 10 years ago. It is certain that a fourth generation launched in 2012/2013 would have met success, despite the intense competition between the Clio, 208, Polo and Fiesta, to name a few.

 

France at the helm
At the turn of the 2020s, it seems that the plan for a new Fiat Punto is coming back on the carpet under three-color impulse, in more ways than one. Besides, of course, the arrival of PSA in the capital of Fiat-Chrysler at the end of 2020, we will have this return thanks to a certain Olivier François, current Managing Director of Automobiles Fiat. The 50-year-old, notably at Citroën in the 1990s, spoke to our British colleagues at Auto Express last May.

 

A Tipo SUV before the Punto
If we learn in particular in his interview, that the compact Tipo is going to be replaced by a compact SUV, of the Nissan Qashqai type, the French also evokes the importance of returning to the niche of city dwellers: “We need to 'a segment B vehicle. It's no mystery. This project has been permanently postponed. Now it is under development. But it would be premature to speak of this model. We will certainly have a sector B. "

 

 

Thank you 208 and Corsa
Logically, this new Fiat Punto would be based on the CMP underbody, currently used by the Peugeot 208 and Opel Corsa. This would make the Italian eligible for a 100% electric motor. This future e-Punto would probably take over the 100kW block from its cousins, and offer a range located around 330 km.

 

 

Arrive late 2022?
Everything can go very quickly with the emergence of a new Fiat Punto. The PSA group demonstrated this by developing the current Opel Corsa in record time, based on a Peugeot 208, following the acquisition of the Blitz from General Motors in 2017. We can bet that before the end of 2022, the fourth generation of Punto could already be showing off… unless the European Union delays the merger between the two automobile giants. Indeed, Brussels recently opened an investigation, fearing that this marriage would lead to domination on the utility market. A case to follow…

Edited June 25, 2020 by Dr.Drako
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