Stellantis will bring a small Fiat car to the United States after Trump’s comments

Detroit – parent company of Chrysler Stellantis Fiat Topolino announced Monday that it will introduce an all-electric mini “car” called the Fiat Topolino in the United States.

The automaker has not announced the timing of the car’s launch, but Fiat CEO Olivier Francois has confirmed plans to bring the car to market, with “more details coming next year.”

Fiat’s announcement comes less than a week after President Donald Trump praised small Kei cars from Japan during a White House meeting with Stellantis CEO Antonio Velosa and other US lawmakers and auto executives.

“She’s very young. She’s really cute,” Trump said during Wednesday’s meeting. “And I said: What would it be like in this country?” “Everyone seems to think well, but you’re not allowed to build it.”

Trump said he had ordered US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to allow small vehicles such as “mini” K-cars to be manufactured and driven in the United States. Producing such cars in America is not necessarily illegal, but they must meet US safety standards, speed requirements and other regulations.

A Stellantis spokeswoman said Fiat’s announcement was unrelated to Trump’s comments last week, and that the automaker was gauging customer interest in the Topolino at U.S. events such as auto shows.

The Topolino, which translates to “little mouse” in Italian, is classified as an “all-electric quad bike” and not a car, according to Stellantis. It has a top speed of about 28 mph and a driving range of up to 75 kilometers (less than 50 miles) on a single charge. The car is made in Morocco.

Small cars have historically not sold well in the United States

The last big push for small car sales in the United States occurred after the Great Recession of 2009 under the Obama administration. At the time, Italian automaker Fiat was allowed to buy bankrupt automaker Chrysler, in part, to help bring such vehicles to the United States.

Fiat and its 500 minivan returned to the US market in 2011 amid Fiat’s acquisition of Chrysler (both now owned by Stellantis).

In its first full year in 2012, Fiat sold 43,772 vehicles in the United States. Those sales have since dwindled to about 1,500 Fiats sold last year in the United States.