I believe latter iterations (post 2016) have a mixture of parts on them. LEMFÖRDER make the ball joints, as you can see this by the logo embossed on the rubber boot. Arms & bushes made by Fiat, as the FCA logo can be seen on the rear most doughnut bush of the wishbone.
2012-16 wishbones were known for the rear most bushes separating from the pressed in sleeve, causing the arm to become loose as well as a few examples of the pressed steel being weaker. They are good for 30-70k depending on use. I have first-hand experience of this with a 2012 model I used to own.
Post 2016 wishbones come with LEMFÖRDER ball joints and modified bushes that are more resistant to separation, delamination and most likely thicker pressed steel arms. I may add they are still very light vs old cast version on the previous panda/500. They are good for 100k with very little effort with no play.
In fact, I contacted LEMFÖRDER a few years back and they specifically stated that the pre 2016 arms they produce (38555 01/38554 01) are not to be used as replacements for post 03/2016 cars. That’s why I decided to purchase, in anticipation some good used post 2016 arms should I need them in the future.
Post 2020 hybrid models come with further modifications. This is where things get a little complicated. Both hybrid models (panda/500) have a new front sub-frame. Some panda models continued using the post 2016 arms (52013959/52013960), whereas, the 500 got new arms (52013961/52013962).
The two arm types appear interchangeable as they share the same front sub-frame (are they using old stock arms for the panda?). The new arms appear to have a substantially reworked (beefy) looking rearmost bush and will be a massive improvement over the original cast steel arm of the 500 from 2007 which were poor at best.
Hopefully this makes sense and clarifies a few things. It’s useful to know. I did my research into those just because I was curious as to why newer panda models were far less prone to needing suspension work than pre 2016 models.
