Fiat 500 EV Joins the Cryptocurrency Craze, Rewards KiriCoins for Green Driving

Stellantis might become the first-ever automaker that has devised a rewarding system based on how environmentally conscious its drivers turn out when using the New 500. The awards have been created with help from eco-friendly startup Kiri Technologies and will cater to Fiat New 500 owners in 13 European countries.

According to the company, “kiri” is the Japanese word for the Paulownia tree, which is said to eat up ten times more CO2 than any other plant. Just to put this into perspective, a hectare (2.47 acres) of kiri trees can absorb up to 30 tons of CO2 per year, which is about the same amount produced in the meantime by 30 cars.

Fiat and Kiri Technologies, on the other hand, are both interested not just in delivering an eco-conscious program but also entering the popular world of cryptocurrencies. The green initiative was recently introduced by Fiat from the Talent Garden and e-Village at Green Pea in Turin, Italy, from “the cabin of the New 500.”

Basically, the e-Mobility by Stellantis and Kiri Technologies project aims to give New 500 EV owners rewards in the form of the KiriCoin cryptocurrency when they adopt a relaxed, “environmentally conscious driving style.” This bid to deliver a “unique, innovative model for the automotive industry” will see drivers collect KiriCoins in a virtual wallet attached to the Fiat smartphone app.

All they need to do is drive the zero-emissions urban car, and then its “driving data, such as distance and speed, is uploaded to the cloud and automatically converted into KiriCoins, using an algorithm devised by Kiri.” Fiat explains that 1 km (0.62 miles) is about 1 KiriCoin, which in turn is worth 2 euro cents. A small calculus then leads to a reward of around €150 ($179) for every 10,000 km (6,200 miles) driven in the New 500.