Looking for an affordable EV? The Fiat Topolino is here. It’s $13,995 — the cheapest new electric vehicle in America. There are some tradeoffs.
Top speed: 19mph. Range: 46 miles. It’s barely longer than one and a half king mattresses. Fiat isn’t pretending otherwise — they call it a micromobility vehicle.
The 5.4kWh battery takes about five hours to charge on a 2.3 kW AC charger. The Topolino has more in common with an electric quadricycle or golf cart than a Tesla Model Y.
It’s not legal for highway driving. Need more speed? A low-speed vehicle conversion kit will be available later this summer, bumping the max to a blistering 25mph.
The Topolino is essentially a restyled Citroën Ami. Fiat is leaning into the golf cart comparison, noting many owners take their carts way beyond the course. They see demand for smaller, slower personal vehicles that aren’t as exposed as e-bikes.
Small cars haven’t historically done well in the US. Fiat sold 43,000 vehicles in 2012 — its first full year back. By 2025, that number dropped to 1,300. The Fiat 500e was leasing for $0 down and $0 a month in Colorado a few years ago.
But there’s buzz around kei trucks and micromobility. Even President Trump called them “really cute” and said he wants to see them built in the US. A week later, Fiat announced the Topolino was coming stateside — though the automaker denies any link.
It won’t work for everyone. But for a resort, campus, or dense urban neighborhood? It just might.
