Fiat considers new minicar to rival Toyota and VW

With rising fuel costs, small city cars are quickly becoming more popular in both developing and developed markets. While Toyota and VW are about to unveil new minicar concepts at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, Fiat is now considering building its own rival version.

The potential Fiat minicar would be based on the same platform as the Panda and 500 but would only be 3200mm long while still being able to seat four, according to Automotive News. If given the green light, the car is expected to be at least two years away and could possibly replace the Seicento city car.

VW plans to build various versions of the minicar in three different regions of the world within a few years. The new model is tipped to be RWD and will be built on a new rear-engined platform dubbed ‘New Small Family.’ Toyota, meanwhile, will go with a front-engined, FWD platform and a 3+1 seating configuration (3 full size seats and 1 child sized seat).