Canadians anxiously waiting for Chinese electric vehicles to arrive with price tags of less than $35,000 don’t have to wait at all.

Such an EV already exists here.

A brand new EV with a price tag of less than $35,000 is already being advertised in Canada, and that’s before even including the Canadian government’s EV rebate.

We’re talking about the 2026 Fiat 500e.

The car typically has a starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $39,995, which with fees and levies comes to $42,290. That’s the normal starting price of the two-door four-seat electric hatchback, and quite a bit above the promised sub-$35,000 price tag.

But, Fiat Canada is offering a before-tax $8,000 discount on the 2026 500e in May, which brings the EV’s starting price to $34,290.

The Fiat Canada website doesn’t indicate how long the discount will be available for.

The Italian-made electric car is also eligible for Canada’s Electric Vehicle Affordability Program, which offers a rebate of up to $5,000 for the purchase or lease of qualifying EVs.

The EV rebate is applied after tax, so it offers a price drop that’s the equivalent of a pre-tax discount of $4,425 in provinces with a 13 per cent sales tax. That’s enough to make the base model 2026 Fiat 500e cost just less than $30,000 once the EV rebate is included.

About the car

The Fiat 500e is powered by a 42-kWh battery and an electric motor with 117 hp and 162 lb.-ft. of torque.

Driving range is rated up to 227 kilometres (149 miles) and the car can be charged in four and a half hours with a Level 2 (11 kW) charger, the automaker says.

New this year, the 2024 to 2026 500e models can plug into the Tesla Supercharger network thanks to an available NACS-CCS1 adapter that owners can buy from a Stellantis dealer. They can also charge at Tesla Superchargers that have a “Magic Dock” without the adapter.

The small EV has a seven-inch driver display and 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen with Uconnect 5, which includes navigation.

Fiat’s 2026 500e cars will begin arriving at Canadian showrooms this summer.

More information is available on the Fiat Canada website.

---