Fiat considers green range

Fiat is looking at introducing a range of cars with ultra-low CO2 emissions to rival Volkswagen's BlueMotion and Ford's Econetic models.

According to the data company JATO Dynamics, Fiat already has the most fuel-efficient car line-up in Europe, and although it sells one low-CO2 model - the Bravo Eco - the Italians accept that other companies with a range of super-clean models are grabbing the green headlines.

The Fiat Group, which includes Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Ferrari and Maserati, will announce new environmental policies later this year. CEO Sergio Marchione wants Fiat to be acknowledged as the greenest car brand in the world.

'We are talking about making rivals to Econetic and BlueMotion,' said Lorenzo Sistino, the head of Fiat's car division, at a briefing in London recently.

'We have technologies capable of reducing emissions, but the problem is that customers do not want to pay one Euro more unless there are advantages in terms of fuel consumption.

'However, if we can provide environmentally clean cars at the same price as other models, it is bound to benefit our image.'

This emphasis on low CO2 means that Fiat will continue to focus on small and medium-sized cars, but there will be a replacement for the six-seat Multipla MPV in 2010.

A compact 4x4, something conspicuously absent from Fiat's current line-up, is also under consideration, but Sistino says that with emissions in mind this would be 'a difficult step'.