Despite the impression you may get from following the news about electric vehicles, Tesla is no longer the only EV manufacturer in the world.
Nowadays, almost all of the legacy carmakers are coming out with EVs of their own. The latest to join the movement is Fiat, which just announced two new electric models, according to a report by CleanTechnica.
The beloved Italian car brand announced the Fiat Topolino, designed for "urban mobility," and the larger and faster Fiat 600e, "the best of the B and B-SUV worlds."
The Topolino is tiny and adorable, described by TechCrunch as "a squat, retro quadricycle that features a convertible top and ropes in lieu of doors." However, the fact that it has a top speed of 28 miles per hour means that United States customers will likely never get their hands on one.
But what does this mean for the world's best-selling car, the Tesla Model Y? In a word: competition.
The Fiat 600e and Fiat Topolino are apparently "targeting the Model Y's dominance," according to CleanTechnica. However, this does not seem to be a very specific targeting but rather the type of general targeting where Fiat would simply like to sell a large number of EVs, as Tesla does.
In that sense, it is similar to how anyone who attempts to sell a cheeseburger is "targeting McDonald's dominance." Fiat is going to manufacture electric cars and try to sell them, all while Tesla continues to be a dominant force in the EV industry.
For the planet as a whole, this is more or less a good thing — the more electric cars there are to replace dirty energy-burning internal combustion engine vehicles, the less our planet overheats.
However, the best thing for the planet overall would be to move beyond passenger vehicles completely, with governments investing heavily in public transit, which is far less damaging to the environment (and at an incredibly lower cost to consumers) than electric cars will ever be.
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