PANDA TWINAIR TURBO NATURAL POWER VOTED SWITZERLAND'S ʻMOST ECO-FRIENDLY CAR'

The Fiat Panda Natural Power has just been selected as 2013's Most eco-friendly car in Switzerland, beating nine other contenders, including some hybrid and electric vehicles. Sponsored by the magazine 'Schweizer Illustrierte', the prestigious title was conferred last week during a formal ceremony at the Umweltarena, Spreitenbach, the leading Swiss centre for environmental technology.

The new 80 HP Panda TwinAir Turbo Natural Power is the first car in the world to be fitted with a lively, small methane/petrol-fuelled two-cylinder engine with turbocharger. It has a high specific power rating and high torque delivery, to perfectly combine reduced consumption with fun at the wheel.

Available in Pop, Easy, Lounge and Trekking trim levels, the new 80 HP Fiat Panda 0.9 TwinAir Turbo Natural Power ensures reduced CO₂ levels (86 g/km) and limited consumption - 3.1 l/100 km (91.1 mpg) in the Combined type-approval Cycle - when running on methane. It should be noted that this vehicle's emissions are an absolute record for Fiat Group production cars and one of the lowest on the entire market.

The arrangement of the two methane tanks under the car's floor allows the luggage compartment capacity to remain the same as on the petrol and diesel versions.

It should be noted that the Panda TwinAir Turbo Natural Power - like all Fiat methane or LPG-fuelled cars - is original equipment (OEM), that is factory manufactured, guaranteed by Fiat itself and marketed through the brand's normal dealership network. In this way, customers can be sure that safety standards are complied with and that quality and reliability are paramount, in addition to enjoying lower running costs and the implementation of the most advanced technologies in this field.

The Panda TwinAir Turbo Natural Power is part of an 'ecological' range which is unique in mainland Europe and which has contributed significantly to the records acknowledged in the latest research by JATO, world leader in automotive consultancy and research.

For the fifth year running, Fiat is the brand with the lowest level of CO₂ emissions of cars sold in Europe in 2011, with an average value of 118.2 g/km (4.9 g/km less than the 2010 average). Over 500,000 cars and commercial vehicles have been sold from 1997 to date in the Natural Power range.

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For further information please contact:

Peter Newton, Public Relations Director
Tom Johnston, Press Relations Manager
or Puneet Joshi, Press Relations Officer                                 

Fiat Group Automobiles UK Ltd
Tel: 01753 511431
Fax: 08712 083834
E-mail addresses: peter.newton@fiat.com / tom.johnston@fiat.com / puneet.joshi@fiat.com

This press release is available on www.fiat4media.co.uk