Fiat and Turin are collaborating to connect plug-in hybrid cars with the city

With the environmental labels system, cars are divided into four groups according to the emissions they produce. Plug-in hybrid models that can run in electric mode with a range of more than 40 kilometres earn the label 0, meaning they are considered not to pollute. This suggests that drivers will activate that driving mode in the city and will not use the combustion engine in low-emission zones.

However, this is not always the case, and it turns out that plug-in hybrid cars pollute more than is assumed, because they run in hybrid mode or fully on the combustion engine. For this reason, Fiat has launched a project that, on the one hand, will warn the driver entering a low-emission zone and, if electric mode is not activated, will activate it automatically.

Automatic electric mode

The plug-in hybrid system allows the car to run in electric mode, but it must be activated. The system that Fiat is testing is in the city of Turin, Italy. Fiat is collaborating with the Department of Transport, Infrastructure and Mobility of the City of Turin to create a system that identifies plug-in hybrid vehicles that do not use the electric mobility system in the city.

This system marks the low-emission zones in cities and, when the car enters them, checks the state of the battery and automatically connects the electric motor. If the driver switches off electric mode to drive in hybrid mode or with the combustion engine, it issues a warning so that they return to electric driving mode.

If the alert is ignored and the car continues to be driven this way, the system sends a signal to the digital platform of the City of Turin. As soon as the car leaves the low-emission zone, it also automatically exits electric driving mode and returns to running on the combustion engine.

This system is being tested and has been installed in two units of the Jeep Jeep Renegade 4xe, the plug-in hybrid version. This model has been equipped with the Geofencing system, which locates the vehicle and puts it in communication with the ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) infrastructure of Turin.

A first test has been carried out with a single Jeep Jeep Renegade 4xe, and the second will enter operation within a few weeks, making Turin the first city in the world able to communicate with the vehicles circulating through its streets. Will this be something we see soon in other cities in Europe?

Technical specifications of this car

Off-RoadJeep Renegade4 versions · from 34,800 €