Out-of-touch politicians are putting the brakes on small, affordable, 'no frills' petrol cars loved by consumers, says the boss of Fiat. But that won't stop the Italian firm producing them - as exciting models in the pipeline prove.
Such was the message from Olivier Francois, CEO of Fiat and Abarth, when I interviewed him at the impressive Brussels Motor Show, which ends tomorrow.
He was speaking as Fiat launched a new petrol-electric hybrid version of its Fiat 500 super-mini - created because customer demand for the pure electric 500e model just isn't strong enough, said Francois, also noting that the new hybrid will account for 70 per cent of sales.
The 65hp Fiat 500 Hybrid blends a one-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine with a 12V lithium-ion battery, linked to a six-speed manual gearbox, and will arrive in the UK from late spring, priced from around £19,000.
Francois told me that Fiat (and, I understand, Citroen) is also working on a no-frills city car that would be 'small, affordable, simple and multi-engined', costing under £15,000 and on the road by 2030.
As a cost-effective solution to unrealistic EU rules, he would be happy to limit the top speed of his city cars to 73mph to avoid driver-safety tech designed for larger, faster and more expensive cars. 'These cars are small, democratic and inexpensive - bought by younger people for the daily commute in a city,' Francois said.
'We need to get back to basics with no frills. We shouldn't be forced to overload small cars with expensive hardware that customers don't want or need.'
Politicians in the EU and UK are also setting unachievable targets for the proportion of EV cars which must be sold each year, Francois believes. 'They have put idealism before pragmatism,' he said, explaining that while electric cars are 'great', 'people can't afford them without discount incentives'. Also displayed by Fiat at the show was the new QUBO L 'people mover', available as a five or seven-seater in diesel, petrol or electric, expected in the UK from under £25,000 in the autumn.
Fiat are also bringing a turbo-charged, 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol version of the new Grande Panda with a manual gearbox, as a cheaper alternative to the hybrid and electric versions arriving from March from £18,995.
An SUV-crossover and a fastback version are to follow. A manual petrol version of the Fiat 600 crossover is also due.
With 67 brands - including Kia, Ford, a host of Chinese marques plus 28 bike-makers - the Brussels Motor Show (autosalon.be) is looking a worthy successor to the Geneva Motor Show, which ceased after the pandemic.
Priced from £45,615, the 'appealing, technically impressive' car, which I road-tested in Denmark last summer, achieved the accolade in an automotive version of the Eurovision Song Contest following a vote by 59 motoring journalists from 23 countries at the Brussels Motor Show.
The CLA beat Skoda's Elroq, the Kia EV4, Citroen's C5 Aircross, the Fiat Grande Panda, Dacia's Bigster and the Renault 4.
It is only the second time that the brand has won the prize - the last being 52 years ago, with the Mercedes-Benz 450 SE/SEL, in 1974.
For UK car fans, it's also an easy hop across the Channel. Definitely one for next year's diary.