Ethiopian Review

Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – Mar. 20, 2010

eco:Drive unplugs from the Fiat and plugs into any PC’s USB port.

Fiat’s awarding-winning eco:Drive system, proven to save fuel and reduce emissions for thousands of consumers, is now being incorporated into the fleet market with the launch of eco:Drive Fleet.

The highly-successful eco:Drive system – more than 34,500 motorists have signed up to use it regularly, and over four million journeys have been logged and analyzed on the dedicated website – has won numerous International accolades in its individual customer format.

Now the new application looks set to follow that trend into fleets with its ability to manage mileage and fuel consumption retrospectively, and offer suggestions on sustainable driving behavior for company drivers in the future.

eco:Drive Fleet optimizes the fuel consumption and the safety of company car and van fleets by measuring the mileage data for all vehicles (distance, time, fuel consumption) and shows the data for vehicles or drivers, either individually or collectively. The system also automatically updates the database with management costs and the mileage count for maintenance intervals; it evaluates driving behavior and its impact on fuel consumption, and offers users advice on becoming an ‘eco-driver’.

Free to download and use, eco:Drive Fleet is available for all Fiat vehicles (500, 500C, Punto Evo, Bravo, Qubo, new Doblò) and for Fiat Professional commercial vehicles equipped with the Blue&Me platform (Grande Punto Van, Fiorino and Doblò Cargo).

Launched by Fiat in 2008, eco:Drive helps motorists understand the impact of their driving in terms of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions and offers suggestions on how to improve efficiency further by changing driving habits.

eco:Drive has received many international awards including ‘Best Digital Technology’ (Guardian Innovation Award 2009), ‘Best Use of Innovative Technology’ (CLIO Awards 2009), ‘European Product Innovation Award’ (Frost&Sullivan 2009), ‘Green Champion’ (International Green Apple Awards 2009) and ‘Cyber Lyons – Grand Prix’ (Cannes Festival).

“Offering eco:Drive to fleets will spread the undoubted benefits of this technology, helping drivers to improve their driving efficiency, saving fuel and reducing their impact on the environment,” says Andrew Humberstone, managing director, Fiat Group Automobiles UK and Ireland.

“In a fleet market context, individual drivers making small savings can have a positive effect in reducing the overall fleet carbon footprint and generate significant costs savings across the business, and eco:Drive can help with this goal.”

What eco:Drive does not offer however is any real time feedback although many Fiat’s do at least come with rudimentary i and aFCDs.