Fiat to Reward 'New 500' Drivers With Cryptocurrency for Driving Well

A new program outlined by Fiat's parent company Stellantis on Tuesday 16 March rewards Fiat New 500e owners who drive well with a cryptocurrency called KiriCoin.

In a bid to improve sustainability, Stellantis partnered with Kiri Technologies, a U.K.-founded startup, to create this reward program. All the Fiat 500e owners have to do is drive their car well, and in return for every kilometer they drive, they'll get a cryptocurrency called KiriCoin.

On top of that, the top-scoring drivers will receive exclusive extra rewards that include vouchers from Amazon, Netflix, Apple, Zalando, and Spotify.

There are a couple of caveats, however. KiriCoins can only currently be spent in one marketplace, the KiriMarket, and the drivers have to be based in 13 specific European countries where KiriCoin is currently available.

For a little context, every KiriCoin is worth the equivalent of two euro cents. So in terms of mileage, that means if a New 500 owner has a mileage of 6,200 miles (10,000 km) per year, they'll collect the equivalent of around $178 (150 euros) in KiriCoins. 

How the new sustainability program works

The entire system is run through the Fiat app, and right before starting their trip, the owners have to simply connect with their New 500's infotainment system, and then drive.

From there, the app sifts through the driving data, such as distance and speed, to gauge whether or not the driver is driving sustainably before converting the kilometers driven into KiriCoins. 

The results are directly downloaded to the driver's Fiat app on their smartphone, and the KiriCoins can then be used to purchase products and services on the KiriMarket. 

The partnership's future plans include extending the rewards to include purchasing renewable energy, organic groceries, and products with KiriCoins.

The hope is to create a community of like-minded people who want to lead a sustainable lifestyle. This Fiat New 500 program is the first stepping stone towards this new system of rewarding sustainable actions.

As Gabriele Catacchio, the program's e-Mobility manager, said "We want to support our customers’ environmentally-friendly behaviors and reward them with exclusive benefits."