ROME, May 12 (Reuters) - Automaker Stellantis

aims to start producing the hybrid version of its Fiat 500 city

car in November, it said on Monday.

The model, built at the historic Mirafiori plant in Turin,

is meant to revitalise the Fiat brand in Europe as well as to

boost flagging production levels in Italy.

Assembly of the first pre-production units had already begun

in Mirafiori, the company said, calling it "a crucial step in

the model's industrialization process."

Production is on track to begin by the end of the year, with

November as the target month, it added.

Stellantis ( STLA ), which was born in 2021 from the merger of

Fiat-Chrysler and Peugeot-parent PSA, last year saw its Italian

car production slide to the lowest level in almost 70 years.

The company presented a plan in December to revitalise its

Italian output, but warned that production numbers were set to

grow only from 2026.