Not only professional drivers can earn money while driving: drivers of the electric Fiat 500 receive KiriCoin and vouchers for ecological driving.
The automobile manufacturer Fiat, together with the startup Kiri Technologies, has launched a reward program for drivers of the electrically powered Fiat 500. The program aims to reward 500-class drivers with the digital currency KiriCoin for sustainable driving. KiriCoin can then be exchanged for material assets in the Kiri Marketplace. The most ecological drivers also receive vouchers from Amazon and Netflix, for example, as Stellantis, the holding company behind Fiat Chrysler and PSA, announced.(Also Read: Facebook is planning Instagram for kids)
Driving = mines
One KiriCoin is roughly equivalent to 2 euro cents. For one kilometer driven, participants in the Kiri program receive more or less one KiriCoin for “normal driving in the city”. Stellantis calculates that anyone who travels around 10,000 kilometers a year in the city can expect around 150 euros in their digital wallet .
The KiriCoin wallet is part of the Fiat app for Android and iOS operating systems. It is connected to the Fiat Cloud. The Fiat 500 is “always connected” and sends driving data such as speed and kilometers traveled to the Kiri cloud. There, the data is automatically converted into KiriCoin in the usual blockchain manner – so to speak, coin mining by driving instead of performing calculations as is the case with Bitcoins, for example.
Members of the bonus program can use the Fiat app to view the rewards they have collected and redeem them for goods in the specially set up marketplace. So far, the offer has mainly been limited to gift cards that are valid in the shops of the participating companies. According to Stellantis, these are companies that focus on ecological sustainability. The focus is on fashion, accessories and design. Stellantis promises to expand what is currently quite a clear range of products in the future.
Vouchers for ecological driving
Fiat 500 owners who drive ecologically in particular receive various goodies in a further bonus program. To do this, Fiat uses an eco: Score, which reflects the driving style from 0 (not economical) to 100 (very economical). Drivers can use the Fiat app, in which the score is displayed, to compare themselves with one another. The most ecological drivers get vouchers from Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Spotify Premium, Zalando and others.
The idea behind the two reward programs is to use a cult car like the Fiat 500 to bring drivers closer to the ecological side of electromobility. Fiat is also using it to push its electric Fiat 500 , which the company presented in 2020 as the Fiat Chrysler Group’s first electric car. The two bonus programs run in 13 European countries – including Germany – and are optional for buyers of an electric Fiat 500.
