Fiat Multiplay revives the Multipla idea as a pickup that turns SUV
Fiat takes the Multipla's space-first thinking and gives it an open load bed
Fiat will show the Multiplay concept at the Paris Motor Show, which opens to the press on 12 October. Teased on 1 October, it combines the open load bed of a pickup with the comfort of an SUV, and a mechanism turns it from one into the other in a few moves. Its name and graphics come straight from the two Multiplas.
Fiat Multiplay switches between pickup and SUV in a few moves
The Multiplay's central idea is a body that converts. Fiat describes the open load space and outdoor versatility of a pickup joined to the comfort and modularity of an SUV, with what it calls an ingenious mechanism to switch between them. That is all the detail there is for now: the only image is a side graphic carrying the silhouettes of the 1956 and 1998 Multiplas. Dimensions, seating and powertrains stay under wraps until the stand opens at Porte de Versailles.
Two Multiplas fitted six seats into 3.53 and 3.99 metres
Both namesakes were packaging records first and design statements second. The 600 Multipla, shown at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1956, seated six in three rows on a body just 3,531 mm long. The 1998 Multipla repeated the trick with two rows of three in 3,994 mm, and owners forgave its odd step below the windscreen long before critics did. It was built until 2010. Fiat already borrowed the name this summer for the Multiplina, a four-seat electric microcar.
Fiat's 2024 Pick-Up concept already sketched this car
The Multiplay has a direct ancestor in Fiat's own plans. At its 125th anniversary in July 2024, Fiat showed a family of Panda-inspired concepts, among them a Pick-Up that blended a pickup body, the practicality of a light commercial vehicle and the comfort of an SUV in a size suited to cities. The City Car from that family has since reached showrooms as the Grande Panda. The Multiplay reads as the Pick-Up's turn, now with a convertible body and a heritage name.
Fiat Strada topped Brazil's sales chart with over 142,000 in 2025
Fiat knows compact pickups better than any other European brand. The Strada was Brazil's best-selling new vehicle in 2025 for the fifth year running, with more than 142,000 registrations, despite its first annual dip since 2020. Europe has never had a matching segment: the second-generation Strada reached Italy in 2012 and stayed a niche, and rivals still build compact pickups such as the Volkswagen Tukan for South America rather than for European buyers.
Grizzly and Grizzly Fastback share Fiat's Paris stand
The concept will not be alone. Fiat's Paris stand also hosts the public debut of the Grizzly and Grizzly Fastback, family SUVs of 4.40 and 4.50 metres with hybrid and electric versions of up to 145 hp, on sale from the fourth quarter of 2026. Fiat calls the Multiplay a source of inspiration for products that will complete its affordable family range, and the brand arrives with momentum: its European registrations rose 21.7 percent in the first half of 2026.
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Fiat has picked the right name for the right idea. The Multipla was always about fitting more life into less length, and a compact car that is a family SUV on Monday and an open load bed on Saturday applies that principle to how people use cars now: bikes, garden waste, a weekend away. The expertise is already in the house, too, since more than 142,000 Brazilians bought Fiat's small pickup last year.
Fiat has to show the mechanism working when the stand opens on 12 October. If the conversion takes seconds without tools and the car stays close to the Grizzly's 4.40 metres, Fiat should confirm a production version before the end of 2027, sold in Europe and South America alike. That would give Europe a compact pickup designed for families rather than tradesmen, which is exactly the kind of car Fiat does best.
