With a project developed with the startup KIRI Technologies, Fiat wants to encourage drivers of the new 500, which is only built as an electric car, to drive in an environmentally conscious manner. In addition, the small car will reward its owners with a cryptocurrency that can be spent on a marketplace with companies from the fashion, accessories and design industries.
The infotainment system of the new Fiat 500 analyzes the driving behavior, whereby so-called KIRICoins are collected in a virtual wallet. The number is displayed in the Fiat app. Data from every trip, including distance and speed, is uploaded to the cloud and converted into KIRICoins using an algorithm developed by KIRI. The result is displayed on the user’s smartphone.
The accumulated KIRICoin credit can be used to purchase products and services on a digital marketplace managed by KIRI. Usually, one kilometer of city travel is roughly equivalent to one KIRICoin, with each KIRICoin being worth two euro cents, according to Fiat. With a mileage of 10,000 kilometers per year in the city, for example, an average equivalent of around 150 euros is collected.
In the future, the initiative could be expanded further to reward sustainable behavior in other areas – for example the use of electricity from renewable sources or the purchase of organic food and other organic products, explains Fiat. The aim is to create a community of people with a more environmentally conscious attitude. In addition, the new loyalty program creates incentives for people to switch to a sustainable lifestyle. The new Fiat 500 is a first step in this system, which specifically rewards more sustainable behavior.
In order to create further incentives for the use of the new Fiat 500, additional rewards are given to the drivers who achieve the highest “eco: Score”. The eco: Score evaluates the individual driving style on a scale from 0 to 100, measuring the energy consumption in real time. The best users in the most important European countries, including Great Britain, Italy, France, Spain and Germany, get access to additional offers from companies such as Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Spotify Premium and Zalando.
The new Fiat 500, which costs from 22,966 euros, is offered alongside its predecessor, which is still available as a combustion engine. The electric car is available open and closed with two doors and in the body version 3 + 1 with a third door. The electric drive has an output of up to 87 kW (118 PS) for acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h in 9.0 seconds, with a maximum of 135 km / h. The range is 320 kilometers according to the WLTP standard.