500e

This electric city car first arrived in the early 2010s as a compliance-focused battery-electric variant of the brand’s small hatchback, with a limited initial market rollout in the United States. That first production run ran through the 2019 model year, after which the badge disappeared for a time. It later returned on a new all-electric generation introduced for the 2020 model year in Europe, marking a much more ambitious revival with a dedicated EV platform and broader global positioning. The modern car kept the same basic urban mission, but it was no longer just a niche regional experiment; it became a core electric offering and helped define the brand’s transition toward battery-powered mobility. Because the nameplate was discontinued and then revived, its history is best understood as two separate production eras rather than one continuous run.