Fiat has added to its environmental accolades with a new award announced for its eco:Drive fuel-saving technology.
The drive system – this time in eco:Drive Fleet form scooped the Green Development prize in the BusinessCar Techies 2010, announced yesterday by BusinessCar magazine.
The judging panel’s attention was particularly drawn to eco:Drive Fleet’s potential fuel savings of up to 15 per cent, its CO2 emissions reductions, and the fact that mileage data can be measured for all fleet vehicles and displayed by vehicle or driver, either individually or collectively.
Launched in March this year, eco:Drive Fleet works through the Blue&Me information system, developed by Fiat and Microsoft, and found in all new Fiat vehicles. Plugging a USB stick into the Blue&Me port lets the system record information about the fleet vehicle user’s driving style, offering suggestions on how to improve efficiency further by reappraising methods.
“Fiat’s eco:Drive Fleet system really impressed the judges, with the system’s ability to make a real difference to fuel use, and therefore a business’s running costs, key to its victory,” says Paul Barker, BusinessCar Editor.
“The clever use of technology – with drivers or companies able to download the data direct from the car – is exactly the sort of application that the BusinessCar Techies seeks to reward, ” he added.
