Fiat lowest for fleet-wide emissions

Independent testing has seen Fiat come in with Europe’s lowest fleet-wide CO2 emissions level for the fifth year running. The Italian giant’s fleet average of 118.2g/km for vehicles sold in Europe drop 4.9g on its 2009 figure. Run and certified by auto research consultancy JATO Dynamics, the testing process that produced Fiat’s figures takes into account the total emissions of every vehicle sold throughout each car maker’s lineup each year. It also placed Fiat first at group manufacturer level, so even taking into consideration brands like Ferrari and Maserati, it still topped the list with an average 123.3g/km, a 2.6g/km improvement on 2010. With a 14 per cent drop from 137.3 to 118.2 between 2007 and 2011, the latest results bring Fiat in well below the EU target figure of 130g/km fleet average by 2015. Fiat attributes its success to ‘simple and ingenious solutions’ under its Air Technologies sub-brand. Air Technologies covers a fair breadth of terrain, from the TwinAir engine recently launched in its 500 model in Australia, through its work with alternative fuels such as methane and LPG, to driver aids such as eco:Drive, an application for the on-board computers in some Fiats providing diagnostics and teaching driving styles aimed at maximising fuel efficiency for individual drivers.