Fiat will integrate charging cables into the body of its next generation of electric carsstarting with the new one Fiat Grande Panda next year. There will be no more cables and chargers lying around in the trunk, like an octopus in a garage.
There is no denying that many historic manufacturers have been caught off guard by the development of an electric car. The vast majority They have developed their electric cars as if they were gasoline cars which has been fitted with an electric motor afterwards. Something as necessary as the home charging cable, the one of alternating current, It remains to this day something that manufacturers do not know how to integrate.
An idea as simple as it is obvious: a roll-up cable
When it comes to storing a charging cable in an electric car, there are three options. The first is a non-option, you just throw the cable in a bag in the trunk and that’s it. The second is to store it in a false bottom of the trunk. This is not always the most practical when you have a full trunk. And the third option is to store it in the small front trunk, or “frunk”, when the car is equipped with one, of course.
The Fiat’s solution is as simple as it is obvious. It is so obvious that it seems incomprehensible that no one has thought of it before. In the new Fiat Grande Panda, the cable will be stored behind a panel at the front of the car, with a cable enrollable in what Fiat describes as its novel way of “reinventing” charging.
For Carlos TavaresCEO of Stellantis, integrating retractable cables into the bodywork could play an important role in increasing the perceived ease of use of electric cars: “We are devising a solution to avoid sticking the charging cable in the mud.”
“You have fantastic cars, packed with technology, fantastic materials and beautiful finishes, and the first thing you do is put the cable on the floor, get it dirty and put it back in the trunk. That’s not very high-tech. If you look at vacuum cleaners, they’ve found a better solution,” he added.
In the Grande Panda, which will hit Spanish roads between the end of 2024 and the beginning of next year, the integrated alternating current cable allows charging at a power of up to 7,4 kWwhich means you can add a few 120 kilometers on the Panda’s 44 kWh battery in 4 hours and 10 minutes.
As for DC charging, the car will retain a cable-free side charging port, as DC charging points of 50 kW or more have a hose. In the case of the Grande Panda, it will accept power outputs of up to 100 kW.
When the Fiat Grande Panda hits Spanish roads between the end of 2024 and the beginning of next year, it will be one of the cheapest electric models on the market, as it will have a Starting price less than 25,000 euros for the 44 kWh version.
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Source: www.motorpasion.com
