Fiat is Europe’s most ecological brand

And that goes for the other brands in the Fiat Group stable too…

One of the 25 best-selling automobile brands in Europe and after two years of holding the leadership position, Fiat Automobiles has proven to be the brand having the lowest average CO₂ emissions on cars sold during the first half of 2009: 129.1 g/km (the figure was 133.7 g/km just six months ago). Fiat has also set a new record: it is the only full-liner brand that already today has achieved the European average goal of 130 g/km established for 2015.

The record of 129.1 g/km set by Fiat was corroborated by JATO, a world leader in automotive advisory and research services, founded in 1984 and now operating in over 40 countries. Of the top ten brands, the bottom line shows FIAT ahead of Toyota (132.9 g/km), Peugeot (134.5 g/km), Citroen (138.1 g/km), Renault (138.9 g/km), Ford (140.4 g/km), Opel (149.5 g/km), Volkswagen (152.5 g/km), Audi (162.6 g/km) and Mercedes (178.8 g/km).

This record set by Fiat Automobiles is the result of its leadership position locally as well. It is the full-liner brand that has the lowest CO₂ emissions in eight out of 21 European countries, and is one of the top three brands in a good 19 countries. One basic contribution to this result is the enormous growth of natural gas, which is proving to be the most environment-friendly fuel. During the first half of 2009, roughly 65,000 Fiat Natural Power cars with an average of 115.8 g/km in CO₂ emissions were sold in Europe, a figure more than 13 g/km less than the brand’s already record-breaking average.

This record contributed to the establishment of another record: Fiat Group Automobiles is number one in the results by groups (132.9 g/km), in front of Toyota, PSA, Renault and Hyundai.

“Improving the environment is not a goal for the future, but something we can do right away, and we are doing it now”, said Lorenzo Sistino, CEO of Fiat Automobiles.

These figures provide significant proof of the unceasing dedication Fiat lavishes on seeking innovative solutions to control polluting emissions and the level of CO₂. But FIAT’s commitment has always been to the public’s real needs and won’t be stopping here. Our aim is actually to reinforce our European record in emission reduction by introducing new engines, new technologies and new applications.

New engines, like the innovative Multiair technology introduced to petrol engines, capable of guaranteeing up to 10% fewer CO₂ emissions, and the new generation of Common Rail Multijet diesel engines that will make their debut on the Punto EVO and that will be gradually adopted on all of our Group’s cars. New technologies, like Start&Stop, presented on the Fiat 500 and now standard on all Punto EVO EURO 5 engines.

Start&Stop is able to cut CO₂ emissions in the urban cycle up to 12%. New applications like “eco:Drive”, the innovative software program that through the USB port of the versatile Blue&Me system allows the driver to analyse his or her driving behaviour to then optimize consumption and therefore emissions. Sixty thousand people have downloaded it in less than a year since its launch, and 25,000 are using it daily to monitor their driving styles.”

Attention paid to sustainable mobility is part of a strategic undertaking of the entire group. Fiat Group was recently acknowledged the leader in terms of sustainability by entering the Dow Jones Sustainability (DJSI) World and Dow Jones Sustainability STOXX indexes with a score of 90/100, versus an average of 72/100 of the companies of the industry analysed by SAM, a company specialised in sustainability investments. DJSI World and DJSI STOXX are the most prestigious stock exchange indexes that only companies judged as the best in managing their businesses according to sustainability criteria can enter. These indexes include only those companies that are leaders from both the financial and the social and environmental viewpoints.

In the South African context, Fiat Group Automobiles South Africa is just as committed to the green cause – technologies like Multiair and Start&Stop are currently under investigation for local introduction.