- Fiat's first-ever three-wheeler is an EV.
- The Tris is a bare-bones, affordable pickup for last-mile deliveries.
- It has an integrated charger, so it can be plugged into any 220V outlet.
Electric cars are still quite expensive compared to their combustion-powered counterparts. Despite more affordable models hitting the market, the average selling price of a new EV in the United States last month was $59,205. That’s over $10,000 more than the average price of a new gas-powered car, according to Kelley Blue Book.
But EVs don’t have to break the bank, and Italy’s Fiat knows it better than anybody else. After the retrolicious and quite affordable Panda, the storied automaker has come up with possibly the cutest pickup in the world.
It’s called the Tris, and it’s Fiat’s first-ever three-wheeled vehicle. Some of you might remember the Piaggio Ape, an iconic three-wheeled commercial vehicle that has been on every Italian street for the better part of a century.
With a similar shape, you can think of Fiat’s Tris as the modern-day Ape. Designed at the Italian automaker’s Centro Stile, the Tris is a bare-bones delivery vehicle that doesn’t even need an external charger to top up the battery. Instead, it has a domestic 220-volt inlet and an integrated charger, so a simple extension cord is enough to replenish the pack. It takes four and 40 minutes to go from a dead battery to full, while a zero to 80% top-up takes three and a half hours.
With a 6.9-kilowatt-hour battery, the Tris has 56 miles (90 kilometers) of range, according to the World Motorcycle Test Cycle (WMTC). Yes, this is a trike, not a car. Despite that, you don’t need to wear a helmet because the back-to-basics delivery EV has three-point seat belts.
A single 48-volt electric motor sends all of 12 horsepower (9 kW) and 33 pound-feet (45 Newton-meters) of torque to the rear wheels, enabling a top speed of 28 miles per hour (45 kilometers per hour). That’s unimpressive in the world of modern EVs, but for last-mile deliveries or on-site operations, it’s more than enough.
The Tris is just 124.8 inches (3.17 m) long but can accommodate a Euro pallet in the back, as long as it doesn’t exceed the maximum payload capacity of 1,190 pounds (540 kg). Meanwhile, the gross vehicle weight is 2,259 lbs (1,025 kg).
Everything is kept at a minimum, so there are no doors, no ABS, and no traction control. Fiat says the diminutive EV’s stability is ensured by its wide track rear axle and 12-inch tires. We’ll take the automaker’s word for it.
Inside, the Tris has a 5.7-inch digital instrument cluster that shows the speed, distance to empty, and battery level. The cab also comes with multiple storage compartments, including a closed glove box on the dashboard.
Available as a flatbed, pickup and chassis cab, the Fiat Tris will be manufactured in Morocco. It will initially be sold in Africa and the Middle East, with Europe likely next in line. “With its debut in the Middle East and Africa, Tris is set to transform last-mile mobility and open new doors to economic empowerment and social inclusion,” said Olivier Francois, Fiat CEO, and Stellantis Global Chief Marketing Officer. “And we believe its potential goes far beyond—Europe may be next, because this kind of smart, sustainable solution speaks a universal language."
