Created on the basis of the partnership between FCA Italy S.p.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of Stellantis, the City of Turin and 5T S.r.l., the “Turin Geofencing Lab” has entered its final phase.
The project – started in June 2020 according to an agreement signed by FCA ITALY S.p.A., 5T S.r.l. and the City of Turin’s Department of Transport, Infrastructure and Mobility – is intended to promote the integration of electrified mobility with the restricted traffic zone (Zona a Traffico Limitato – ZTL) management infrastructure in the city.
To that end, the e-Mobility Business Unit of Stellantis has delivered to the Municipality of Turin two Jeep® Renegade Plug-in Hybrid 4xe. Courtesy of collaboration with the Fiat Research Center S.C.p.A.(CRF), which in Stellantis is dedicated to innovation and research applied in the automotive sector, these have been fitted with sensors that can preemptively recognise entry into a restricted traffic zone, causing the internal combustion engine to be switched off. As such, the transition to electric mobility is “piloted” automatically, to guarantee zero-emissions travel in the ZTL.
The project was divided into two phases: first, the two Jeep Renegade 4xe models were fitted out and tested by the CRF. Then, in December 2020, they were delivered to the Municipality of Turin to allow the Municipality to autonomously trial it in the field. The tests were aimed at checking the effectiveness of communications between the car and the 5T Mobility Center that manages the ZTL gates.
The phase of trials in the field has been completed in recent days and the preliminary results are extremely positive. In over 6 months of testing, the two Jeep Renegade 4xe crossed the central Turin ZTL with over 70% of the journeys in electric mode, resulting in a clear reduction in the emissions of CO2 and harmful gases.
This significant finding underlines the importance of the “Turin Geofencing Lab”, a project already unique of its kind. Unlike other automakers, the e-Mobility Business Unit of Stellantis has focused on a system that can put a vehicle in contact not only with its driver, but also with the gate management system in a city center, managed in this case by 5T on behalf of the City of Turin.
In this way – as well as ensuring motorists can enter a ZTL without incurring penalties – the geofencing system built into the two cars provides the city government with constant tracking of the vehicles being driven within its restricted traffic zones, and in turn informs its Mobility Center of which vehicles have actually been traveling at zero emissions.
The data collected in recent months for the two Jeep Renegade 4xe – one of which modified by the Autonomy department of Stellantis to provide access for persons living with disabilities – will be analysed by the CRF development team, and will then be the focus of a final report, to be used to promote the project beyond the bounds of the city.
Indeed, the “Turin Geofencing Lab” lends itself well to be replicated in other cities in Italy and around Europe. It offers a technologically innovative and environmentally sustainable solution, for the benefit of customers who choose a plug-in hybrid vehicle. It also assists municipalities in the management of their city traffic, and at the same time, in reducing urban air pollution.
SOURCE: Stellantis
