Fiat's tiny Topolino is a $15K microcar that's tapping into America's golf-cart boom

There's a new tiny car in town, and America just might be into it.

Fiat ( STLA ) brought the Topolino to the US this year, a golf cart-like electric car with a heritage design. Topolino, or "little mouse" in Italian, harkens back to the original Topolino, which Fiat built from 1936 to 1955. That small car, known for its Mickey Mouse-style headlamps, eventually grew into the iconic Fiat 500.

Fiat initially planned to sell the new Topolino in Europe for people living in small towns (think beach towns or hilly villages) or even for large resorts. And while that has been the case, the company decided to run a small test by offering 300 Topolinos to its dealers in the US.

"The original shipment was 300 units - the majority of those have already been sold," said Andrew Waterhouse, head of Fiat North America, to Yahoo Finance. "We're taking it step by step, because like I said, it's kind of an experiment."

Waterhouse points to a booming market for what the industry calls micromobility, which he says Fiat's data shows will grow 28% over the next five years. Right now that demand shows up mostly as street-legal golf carts.

"Those people aren't using golf carts … to play golf," he said. They're using them "to drive around, to go to lunch, to drive to the pool, drive to the beach."

For Fiat, who still sells the 500e in the US, it's a natural. "We've always been known for small cars," Waterhouse said. "If there's one brand, I think I would say that could go even smaller, it's us."

The Topolino starts at around $15,000 with destination, and Fiat offers free home delivery within 50 miles of the selling dealer.

About 60% of US buyers have chosen the open-air Dolce Vita edition, which swaps doors for ropes. In Europe, the version with doors is more popular. "If you're living in a city … you want to be able to lock your stuff in your car," Waterhouse said. In the US, he said, the Dolce Vita suits "a beach town, gated community resort type experience where you want the open air."

Styling-wise, the Topolino is a winner - it just exudes that Italian style that Fiats are known for - at least historically. The car initially came in Verde Vita (green life) Mint, but for 2027 will be offered in Corallo Orange (sun-kissed coral) and Luna Greige (gray moon).

Interior-wise, the car is very basic, lots of plastic, but some fun elements like the top dashboard glovebox with leather straps, and special Bluetooth speakers that come in matching colors and say "Ciao!" the minute they are turned on.