Fiat is to launch its successful eco:Drive initiative to fleets.

The system, which was launched last year to private Fiat drivers, has proved a big success with some 70,000 motorists across Europe now using the system to see how efficiently they drive and how to improve their driving styles.

Now the Italian carmaker has adapted the system for fleets.

This will allow fleet managers to compare all their drivers’ fuel consumption and CO2 emission records on a single chart.

Company drivers can upload information onto a web-system, which gives them and their fleet managers instant access to their driving styles and allows comparisons with other company drivers so fleet managers can identify and reward efficient drivers and to identify and train the least efficient.

“This will show the fleet manager all of the information on a dashboard on his computer,” explained Lorenzo Sistino, CEO of Fiat Automobiles at the recent Fleet Europe forum.

“It will show all the information on the efficiency of the fleet – it allows him to monitor the fuel and CO2 emissions.

“It will help fleet managers to properly manage their fleet.”
While many telematics systems can do this in real time, the Fiat system is pre-installed and therefore requires no extra hardware to be fitted to the cars.

It is part of the Blue&Me system that Fiat fits to all its new cars.

When it is launched here within days, the eco:Drive Fleet will be free, although it does rely on drivers downloading their information from their car to a PC using a USB memory stick.

Using a USB stick plugged into the car’s dashboard, eco:Drive records information about the vehicle and how it is being driven, which can then uploaded on to a computer.

Information on acceleration, deceleration, gear changes and speed are all recorded.

Fiat’s software then gives an analysis of driving performance, along with suggestions on how to improve efficiency further by reappraising driving methods and providing simple tutorials.

It is estimated that drivers can cut their fuel bills – and their cars’ CO2 emissions – by as much as 15% by using the system and following its eco-driving tips.

The date of the UK launch of eco:Drive Fleet has not yet been set, but is due within days, confirmed a Fiat spokesman.